YuleSlide Fun

Kelly and I went down the YuleSlide at the Children's Museum courtesy of our cool friend Mark. Here is video of our adventure.

All I Want for Christmas...

...is a freakin window already. (I'm sure Steph does too.) With inside demensions of W: 35 1/4 " and H: 60"

Thanksgiving 2008

Family and food. Whenever my family gets together you can always find us hanging out in the kitchen telling stories and reminiscing about old ones. My brother and sister-in-law Julie and their kids, Daniel and Beth came in from out of town this year. Julie always bakes each of our favorite cookie recipes. Buckeyes for Dad, bon bons for me, chocolate chip cookies for Mom and pecan squares for Chuckie. The cousins had a wonderful time being with each other. Lots of laughs and giggles filled the house and of course, we played football in the street after dinner.

Clockwise from left: Cameron sleeping off dinner, dessert table, Madelynne and Beth having girl time, Thanksgiving spread.

The day after Thanksgiving I woke up at 2:45am on Friday. For the first time I was determined to be at the stores when they first opened. I had a list of what stores I would go to in the order that they opened, what I was going to get at each store and for who, and then I listed whether or not I had a coupon for that store. So, 2:45 came and I was up, made a pot of coffee, warmed up the car, got my dad and off we were to Carson Pirire Scott downtown. We got there at about 3:45 and were one of the first people in the store. Everyone was really friendly and helpful. (When we first got there, no one was in the parking garage to let us out, but by the time we were done shopping a lady was there) We went to Kohl's afterwards, but not before stopping for coffee. After Kohl's I laid down for about an hour and 15 minutes. I wanted to get to Costco when they opened at 9am. Mom and I went to Costco and then Macy's. We got some really great deals and had a good time making our way through the crowds. That night, I went downtown to see the lighting of the "World's Largest Christmas Tree." It wasn't too bad though the compactness and mushiness and invasion of personal space was worst than last year.

This time next week I should be transitioning into my new job. I will be one on a team of 5 doing cell culture, assay, mass spectrometry and automation. A lot of change this is.

I will be attending the Great Banquet this weekend. My feelings on attending have varied greatly. However, the happenings of the past month have me looking forward to getting away for a little bit.

my little brother started his EMT/paramedic class this week. I'm excited to look through his textbook!

hypersensitive startle reflex=exhaustion

peppermint mochas are back!

**Update to the update... got an e-mail from my manager..."Meghan, there has been a change in your position...I'll tell you more when we talk..." Seriously? Can that be anymore vague?! I hope he didn't hear about the files that I accidentally deleted (which were restored) or the lab that I unintentionally flooded. (how do you not have a drain in a lab?)

Anyway, I'll be working with a different team than the one described above. Budget cuts prevent that team from even existing now. Instead I'll be doing more analyses, preparation, dilutions and documentation work for samples. At the beginning of next year I could move again into investigative toxicology. For now though I'll be working in the mornings at the clinic and spend my afternoons in the laboratory at a different building .

C8 H10 N4 O2

Do you ever find yourself tired, cranky, and easily disturbed? Oh, wait that's every day.

Kidding.

At work, the majority of us drink coffee. In fact, when it was announced that that the coffee maker would be staying until the end of the year while everything else would be packed up applause and cheers actually broke out in the room. That goes to show that they have their priorities straight. The coffee at work has affectionately been called "Crack Coffee", by two of us anyway.

Not only does crack coffee help with the recent transition of falling back but it also assists in jolting ones senses and getting over the part of the day that drags on forever. Recently, I have experienced Rockstar. Rockstar is an energy drink with a total of 80mg of caffeine per serving (160mg total) This isn't that much more than a cup of coffee. However, there is a noticeable difference in the amount of energy one has with drinking coffee and drinking Rockstar. (it could also be the placebo effect which I'm not ruling out either) The only hang-up I have about Rockstar is the taste.

It's bad. Especially the first time. After awhile you can get used to it. Desperate times call for desperate measures.

Blog Anniversary

It dawned on me that I missed my 1 year blog anniversary. It was back in September, the 24th to be exact. Maybe this next year I can spit out more posts. For now, you can check out the pictures from Chihuly's glass work at the Children's Museum.

A festivus for the rest of us

The TPCC Young Adults rounded up for a fall bonfire last weekend. We even got some wiffleball in! There was a great mixture of new and old friends and a nice way to welcome the fall season.

The next day a few of us headed out to the Irish Fest to pay homage to the Emerald Isle. I enjoyed sitting back and listening to the entertainment. I have decided that Friday is the best night to go. There is more excitement in the air and the dancing/singing is more festive. Still, we had a good time.

Irish Fest gang

Mother Superior reciting her Irish toast. (The guy in the black t-shirt ended up winning the grand prize-all expense paid trip to Ireland) Next year all of us are going to enter the contest and give our best Irish toast. The hard part will be picking a someone to go to the Motherland with when one of us wins!

Barra MacNeil's

This family of six is a pretty amazing group. Kyle, Lucy, Sheumas, Stewart, Boyd and Ryan belted out some great songs. Definitely check out their website (I wouldn't mine owning their 20th Ann. CD)

I've been sick this week. All thanks to a chum of a co-worker I have. I went out and bought a vaporizer and Benadryl and for some reason chocolate squares. I've been camping out in my room watching NCIS and House episodes. My nightstand is currently filled with a combination of OTC drugs, Vick's VapoRub, tissues, crackers, water, Gatorade, etc. (I really want a cup of chicken noodle soup from Panera) I drag myself out of bed in the morning and go to work and set up camp again at night. I look forward to when I can breathe easy and not look like 5 miles of bad road. I do however have a hot "smelly cat" voice when I sing.

Animal mating behaviors and environmental factors

I'm at work yesterday and I get in the elevator to go to the cafeteria for breakfast. Two patients get on (a man and a woman) and they are debating/discussing when menopause begins. The man looks at me and asks for a definition of menopause. I tell him and he starts talking to the woman again. We get off the elevator, the woman hurries out of the hospital and the man continues the conversation with me. (did I mention I was on my way to breakfast?) He asks me if I think that men go through menopause and while I didn't take a firm stance on the issue I did mention that there have been some studies/reports where it has been suggested that men experience something similar to menopause. He just about loses it and went on a tangent about estrogen and testosterone and sexual attraction and talked about the menstrual cycle and peacocks fanning their feathers and environmental factors. All of this was going down in front of the elevators in the hospital. I was patient and professional and listened and inserting a "that's interesting" or "mmhmm" nodding my head and secretly hoping that my pager or phone would go off so I could make an exit. Finally he takes a breath and I excuse myself and chuckle down the hallway at what just transpired. I couldn't believe that I just had a conversation (however one-sided it was) about menopause and animal mating behaviors.

When I return to the lab there is an animal inside. Upon closer inspection and questioning I find out that it is a sugar glider. My manager had brought it in from home. I get along well with critters. I like to watch them and check them out before I handle them. However sugar gliders I quickly found out, glide through the air and will jump at you and land on you. I thought that I had stood far enough away from it that it wouldn't jump but I was mistaken. It jumped and landed on me and I tensed up so fast and must have had the deer in the headlights look because the entire lab erupted into laughter. I'm glad that I was able to provide some comic relief for everyone.

Have I mentioned that I love being an aunt? Because I do!

My nieces and nephews make my world go round. Their laughs are contagious and their personalities are as different as each snowflake. I love spending time with them, rocking out songs, telling jokes and watching them grow up.

to harass or treat roughly with or as continual biting or tearing with the teeth*

I worry. A lot. About things that I can't even control just because it gives me something to do. For example, lately I have an ongoing inner dialogue of conversations that have yet to occur. Yes, it is good to think before you speak, but even I think this is overkill. Right now... I am worrying about work this week. I will be the lead person in the lab during a period of heavy activity. I already have everything set-up for tomorrow (of course) but I am worrying about mistakes and screw-ups that may or may not happen. I am worried that someone is going to want me to do a shipment and I won't be able to do it. I'm worried that the crap is going to hit the fan and I'll be the one that everyone looks to for an explanation. I'm worried about not being prepared enough to handle the volume of work in a short time frame. I worry because I think that if I don't then it seems like I don't care about my work. Maybe that is just what I perceive as what others think of me. (I should have taken that Behavioral Psych course in college)

* This is the first definition of worry listed in Webster's. Interesting.
** I plan on coming back to this and completing my thoughts/discussion; I'm just overwhelmed now and I drank too much sweet tea while typing this post.

It's okay to be green

Finally! I got my coffeecover today as a gift for my birthday from two friends. I couldn't wait to break it in.

Yes, it is on my sweet tea drink. What of it? This is a really great idea. Instead of using the cardboard coffee sleeves that come with your hot drink, get yourself one of these. Not only will you be reducing waste but you can wear your personality on your drink! Check out the website at www.coffeecover.net and order a few for yourself and friends. This baby is going to get a lot of use this week since I'll be living at work. For the sake of humanity Hubbards and Cravens better open on time this week.

Rach and Megs

My friend Rachel and I go back several years. Okay, all the way back to middle school art class when she asked me why I was painting polka dots on my dragon. We also went through Mrs. Murphy's "swivel" lecture in freshman English. We even shared a locker for two years and stuffed it full with peanut butter rice cakes and other munchies to chow on before the 7:15am bell.

Tonight, we went out tonight to celebrate our birthdays. Rachel was born one day before me and at the same hospital too! I'm surprised that we didn't get mixed up in the nursery. We went to Carolina Grill for a nice dinner and then we walked around the neighborhood.

Oh, and I bought my dream house!!

I'm really excited to move in over Labor Day weekend and start decorating!

*no, I didn't by this house or any other house for that matter. However, should this one ever go on the market, feel free to buy it for me :-)

Berry Pickin'

Dad and I went berry pickin' this afternoon. We were aiming for blueberries, but evidently they are out of season. Instead we picked and ate our way through the raspberry bushes. After almost an hour of picking in the hot, hot sun we ended up with 4 quarts of fresh raspberries.

Enjoying the fruits of our labor.

The Big Cheese came yesterday and told us who would be reallocated and who would be laid-off. All privately of course. I will be moving to "corporate" at the end of October. Before I go on let me say that I am grateful to have a job and I am thankful that there is room for me over at "corporate". So, yeah. I'm not sure of what to think of the whole situation. I've really enjoyed working in a clinical setting the past year and now I am moving to more of a "real" laboratory, sans patients. I'm sad that many of my co-workers won't be moving with me and the awkwardness that is in the air when we are together is something that I don't like much. In reality, I guess I feel that this didn't come as a surprise to me. For the past three weeks I have been pretty much at peace about this whole situation. I was okay with letting whatever happen happen, but I was prepared to lose my job and start over with a different company. Now, that isn't the case anymore. I'm looking for the pros in this new path: I have the opportunity to work closely with scientists. I will be able to learn new procedures and get a different perspective. I'll be working regular hours, no more nights and weekends or 2am calls. The cons: no more overtime, no more clinical setting, and having no clue about what I am supposed to be doing or how to do it.

I'm in between being mellow about this and not being o.k. with it. I should probably save my energy and just roll with it because I know that there is something bigger and better after this. I am supposed to learn new things and make the most of this opportunity because on the other side of the bridge is something that I was made to do, something that has been and is waiting just for me. I just wish I knew how long it is going to take to cross.

Eyes

I heard this song for the first time last night and it really struck a chord with me. Just thought I'd share it if you haven't heard or read the lyrics before. The song is called Give me your Eyes.

Looked down from a broken sky Traced out by the city lights My world from a mile high Best seat in the house tonight Touched down on the cold black tile Hold on for the sudden stop Breath in the familiar shock Of confusion and chaos Are those people going somewhere? Why have I never cared?

Chorus: Give me your eyes for just one second Give me your eyes so I can see Everything that I keep missing Give me your love for humanity Give me your arms for the broken hearted Wasn't it far beyond my reach? Give me your heart for the once forgotten Give me your eyes so I can see again again yeah yeah

Step out on a busy street See a girl and our eyes meet Does her best to smile at me To hide whats underneath Theres a man just to her right Black suit and a bright red tie Too ashamed to tell his wife Hes out of work Hes buying time Are those people going somewhere? Why have I never cared?

Chorus

I've Been there a million times A couple of million eyes Just moving past me by I swear I never thought that I was wrong Well I want a second glance So give me a second chance To see the way you see the people all alone

Chorus (x2)

Happy Birthday

to me!

Summer Lovin'

Driving home tonight I was reminded of all the things that I love about summer.

• the smell of fresh cut grass
• summer sunrises-the colors are so vivid
• how the sunlight hits the cornfields. It's even better in the fall when they look like fields of gold.
• cool breezes
• opening the house windows and blinds
• summer thunderstorms
• hiking/camping
• time in/on the water (still haven't gone canoeing at sunset at Eagle Creek yet)
• farmer's markets
• sitting on the patio
• flowers
• being outside with a good book or listening to some great music
• gardening
• long bike rides
• hanging out with friends
• outdoor movies
• taking naps in the hammock
• ice cream

What are some of your summer favorites?

North Carolina

I went on a weekend trip to North Carolina. Thursday night I drove to Cincinnati and stayed with my brother, sister-in-law, and niece/nephew. Friday morning I was on the road by 9 and started the 10hour journey to Greensboro, NC to visit Leigh Anne. The entire weekend was really nice and it just provided a great opportunity to decompress and relax. Saturday was packed full of hiking and climbing. Later we grabbed a late lunch and went shopping at the farmer's market and the local mall. By 7am Sunday I was on the road back home. One of the funniest moments was when we were on top of Hanging Rock Mountain and we were talking about how Rodney Yee-esque it was and how he should film a yoga video on the mountain. Well, I decided to help Rodney out a little. Obviously, I still I have to work on my tree pose.

Here are a few more pictures from the weekend.

I have accomplished taking 2 out of the 3 vacations that I wanted to this summer. The last trip is one to Colorado. I hope to go some time before November. Then, I will have accomplished the ultimate goal, no longer being the girl who has only been on break within a 100 mile radius of home.

Congratulations and Good Luck

* this is how I felt earlier today

August 6, 2008. A day that will forever be etched into my memory. As an extension to my rant post I continue on with the story here. Don't fear, this is not a rant.

August 6. Today is the one year anniversary of my current place of employment. It is also the day I found out that said place of employment was going to be shut down by the end of the year.

*Insert "Oh, crap" here


If you have any idea how the past few weeks have been going for me (bad) you can imagine what this news did for me in my already fragile state of mind. However, after the initial shock wore off I felt...free, at peace even. I've been laughing at the irony of it all (1 year anniversary and everything) I've come to the end. I've been angry, frustrated, and I've cried my eyes out to the point of dehydration. All that's left is to laugh, and the thing that makes me kick myself is this: I could have laughed sooner, I didn't have to go through everything else.

A friend offered this verse to me as a source of encouragement on Monday. "When my spirit was overwhelmed within me, you knew my path." -Psalm 142:3 He certainly must know my path, after all, He created it. I would have never thought that leaving or being removed from an item would lead to such a feeling. Oftentimes, I think that we as a society are stuck in the mindset of having more and we lose sight that often times less is more.

Fat Doctor wrote a great post today and says perfectly what I wish I could write. I too wish that I could have the faith needed to allow things to fall into place without feeling like I have to have some part in it happening. It would have saved me a lot of stress the past two weeks.

What happens now? Well, from what I figure (this might be premature to say) I'll be at my current job at least until the end of November. I've put in what seems like hundreds of applications, but really amounts to about 25. It may be even that I just move to another team within the company. I'm not worried. Yet. (see, there's that whole faith thing again) Besides, my path has already been paved out I'm just along for the ride.

The First Baseball Game

Bob and Tom and Dan St. Paul . Great for the bible loving folk. Because I can't embed YouTube videos, you'll have to go to the link. It starts at about 1:25.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vEK_FtMD2QQ

Rant

Warning: Venting post. If you are looking for a post to provide comic relief or insight this isn't it. I would direct you to the blogs that are listed on my blogroll. You've been warned.

Today I felt as if I had the wind knocked out of me, or like I was holding my breath all day. The majority of it stems from the fact that my lab partner's last week is this week. We worked really well together. It was like watching a ballet; so graceful and flawless. As much friction as there was in the beginning you would have never thought we would be able to pull it off but we did. Now with him leaving I feel overwhelmed with meeting expectations and carrying more responsibility all without the support or acknowledgement of management. Add to that the text that I received, "Bad news, you need to call me." I called and it turns out that "The Big Cheese" wants his last day to be today. WTF?! Does anybody not care that we have study activity tomorrow and you just left us with 2 people, someone who can't think for themselves and a manager who has only been on the job for two weeks, has no lab experience and doesn't have a clue as to what they are suppose to do! I cannot wrap my head around the insanity of it all. I don't understand the thought process that was used and... it's like the game Pick up Sticks. All the sticks have been dumped in front of me and I have to get each one without disturbing the others. It's frickin' impossible! There is so much more too. Software, shipping, SOP's, timelines, etc. It's all been there, those aren't anything new, except now it all seems enormous.

When I came home today I changed and started running and didn't stop until I couldn't run anymore. I feel better now. Well, a little bit. I'll get through tomorrow. And the next day. hopefully each day will be a little less painful. For now, I'll go to the land of rainbows and puppy dogs and warm fuzzies.

a successful week

Tonight I was really proud of myself. I was able to finish the walkway flowerbed. I started on it this week and worked on it a little bit everyday after work. Cutting back the Hostas, raking out the old mulch, spraying with weed and bug killer and then finally tonight I laid down new mulch. Two neighbors even stopped by and complimented my work.

I am on the United Way Committee at work and today was our campaign kick-off. This was also my project to organize and over see. What started out as an idea with a pinata ended up being a summer theme. We held "Summertime Fun" on the roof of the hospital. Today couldn't have been a better day for it. We offered a water balloon toss, a game with cherries, squirt guns, and martini glasses where the object was to squirt your cherry down the board and into the martini glass, and we also had corn hole. I've never laughed so hard with the doctors and nurses. By the end of the day I was absolutely soaked. I think that everyone appreciated the opportunity to get outside and relax for a little bit. It was a great time and a successful kick-off for United Way.

I am looking forward to a relaxing weekend. I plan on going to the farmer's market on Saturday, preparing a lesson for Ablaze and hopefully publish a post about a book that I just finished. I am working the late shift tomorrow at work. Prayers for energy/stamina and for finishing the day well are appreciated.

5:1

On Sunday I provided some respite time for my parents as they juggled watching all five grand kids for the weekend. After church, I loaded everyone up in the van and off to the Children's Museum we went. When we got to the museum I laid out the ground rules: stay together, if you're going some where tell me, no fighting, who to go to if you get lost, names phone numbers, oh, and this is your first and last warning, if you choose not to obey then we are going home. (hey, when you're the only adult with 5 kids you got to be tough) Here are the kiddos shortly after arriving. (from left to right: Madelynne, Daniel, Alex, Beth, and Cameron)

We started on the lower level and then worked our way up to the 4th floor. All of them enjoyed the Egyptian exhibit and reading and learning about mummies. ( this exhibit was there when I was in elementary school, and I never get tired of going through it.) Next, we went to the comic exhibit and checked out the Batmobile. The boys LOVED drawing comic characters and the girls enjoyed dressing up. We must have been in that exhibit for 45 minutes. We hit up the crazy mirrors and the playhouses and then, THEN, we went to ScienceWorks. Oh, how I love Science Works. "Come on kids, let Aunt Meghan show you the difference between kinetic and potential energy. Wait, come over here I'll tell you about reptiles and freshwater animals. Oh, look! A pulley and wedges! Who wants to talk physics?!" I'm sure they're thrilled that Aunt Meghan is a scientist. This exhibit is where the kids had the most fun. (how can you not, it science!) They climbed through the cave, hula-hooped, played in the water, learned about healthy eating and exercise, and worked on some construction projects.

I can't say that I didn't lose anyone. Okay, so I lost all three boys, but not at the same time and it was more that they were temporarily misplaced. (We were always in the same exhibit together.) On three different occasions I rounded everyone up and we went looking for the misplaced child. Finally, I decided that I would allow the older kids to go play with a toy, exhibit, as long as I could still see them and I would stay with the youngest.

After 4 hours of running the ramps, going through all the exhibits, millions of times counting off 1,2,3,4,5, and only one bathroom break we were off to dinner. When we got to the restaurant (read: McDonald's) because I'm such a pro at wrangling 5 kids, I had them all sit down and I ordered for everyone, got the drinks, ketchup, and food and finally sat down. Whew! Of course there was the go around of opening the toy that came in the Happy Meal and putting it together. Cameron managed to bite his finger, probably thinking it was part of the french fry and then he fell off of his chair face first into the floor. (it was quite a drop for a four year old) After the standard giving of kisses and holding by Aunt Meghan all was right with the world again.

I really enjoyed being with my nieces and nephews. It is not often that they all get to be together. It was neat to watch Cameron look up to Dan and follow him. (Cameron called him "Danny" all day) Alex was such a big brother to Cam, and the girls really bonded like sisters.My wish is that their bond with each other only stengthens and grows deeper as they get older. I hope that they enjoyed the day as much as I did.

At the end of the day everyone was returned to Grandma and Papa's house fully intact, fed, and tired. (That's the way grandparents like them, right?) After kisses and "ever-so's" (our version of I love you) Aunt Meghan went back to her house to crash and burn.

Florida 2008

How to take a Vacation

Step 1: Pick the day(s) that you would like to vacation and schedule that time off from work.

Step 2: Buy any needed tickets (plane, train, boat)

Step 3:Pack for said vacation

Step 4:Board plane, train, or boat

Step 5: Arrive at vacation destination

Step 6: Relax!

I succeeded at accomplishing 5 out of 6 of the above steps on my first vacation. Any guesses at which one I had the most trouble with? If you guessed step 6, give yourself a pat on the back.

I left for Venice, Florida on Friday morning to visit dear family friends, Helen and Jim that have been like grandparents to me and my brothers. After landing in Ft. Myers and driving the 1hour and 15 minutes to the Venice area, we stopped off at Englewood beach for lunch at the Lock and Key restaurant. We arrived home in Venice and I headed out to the pool for a few hours. All the while I could not make myself believe that I was in the Sunshine State. The next full days were filled with trips to the beaches, Venice, Siesta Key, and my favorite, Manasota Beach. I finished 4 books while in Florida. Cross, You've been Warned, another James Patterson book and Dinner with a Perfect Stranger by David Gregory; I highly recommend reading this book.

We dined at many restaurants during my stay. Turtles, Sam's Steakhouse, and an Amish restaurant were a few. Turtles sat on the water and overlooked Little Sarasota Bay. Every so often you would see fish jump put of the water. We were told that just before we arrived dolphins and manatee's were in the area. What a sight that would have been! Here we are at Turtles after dinner. (The talapia was amazing!)

There were many times when we would start a conversation with "Remember when..." Jim brought out a 20 year old VHS tape of my first dance. A video I had never seen before and had only heard of in dialogue with family. Uncle Ron and I danced to the song "Rainbow Connection" from the Muppetts. Here is a picture:

On my last day, Helen and I broke out my old domino set and played a few rounds.

I was definitely a little rusty. Helen won the first 4 games right off the bat. After a few games though, I was back on track.

I particularly enjoyed walking the shoreline and hearing the tides roll in and out, looking for interesting shells, and just being amazed by what was in front of me. It was a great visit with two very special people and time well spent.

Now, grab yourself a drink with an umbrella, sit back, relax, and imagine hearing the sound of the ocean waves.

Summer Slide Show

Organic Bovine, Rooftop dinner, and a window

Summer is the perfect time to check out the farmer's markets and stock up on local produce. I went to Trader's Point Creamery with a few friends and we strolled through the market and had dinner on the farm. The dinner menu included eggplant lasagna, garlic bread, fresh green salad and a drink ( I had the organic milk for the all around organic experience) For dessert we opted for some ice cream that is made right there at the farm. Everything was delicious.

Betsy and Frank making their way to the field.

The next night I headed down to Fountain Square to help Steph and Kate cross one off "The List" and enjoyed dinner on the rooftop of Shelbi Street Cafe. The food was great and the company was even better. The rooftop has a view of the downtown skyline and is the perfect place to relax and unwind.

I love living life with these people!

I took this shot on a whim while we were waiting for the elevator. I like the angle and how the sunset hits the bricks. It may just end up on a wall in my room.