Not the finest Greene girl moment...

And please let the record show that I am not the Greene girl at fault. Blame lies somewhere between #2 and #3.

So we royally screwed up Mother's Day. While intentions were good, the end result was not. My sister has recently become a fan of digital scrapbooking made two very sweet photo pages for two special women in our lives. She so carefully selected the photos, the layout and had them printed. She so carelessly placed them in the wrong envelopes. On Mother's Day, our mother opened a gift that appeared to be an announcement and her heart nearly stopped beating. The "We love you Grandma!" message was a cause for panic and accusing eyes! Us explaining that "It was a mistake!" and "It was just an accident!" and something about the mailman definitely did NOT help!

Here's to good intentions!


I know that many are waiting for an update from the bachelorette weekend. Well, what happens in Destin stays in Destin. At least until I get photos :). In the meantime, check out some great rental properties!*

*shameless plug for the Brown's

We let her keep a Christmas sweater... but just ONE...

My mom is the world's best blog reader. It's true.

As demonstrated by this actual message left on my voicemail: "Meghan, It's Mom. Did you win monogrammed car mats from Nicole's blog? Call me!" (all said in about 5 seconds)

Nicole is a friend of mine from college. I had NO idea that my mom read her blog. (Apparently she is a big fan of Nicole's Recipe Wednesdays.)

More evidence:

An actual phone conversation:

Mom- Do you realize that you have like 12 followers?
Me- Sure

Mom- One of them looks like Barack Obama.

Me- [pause] um... Mom... it is a picture of Barack Obama.

Friends, be forewarned if she hasn't started reading your blog yet- it is only a matter of time. And since she will be getting to know you all, let me tell you all a bit about her...

She had a birthday this year that freaked her out a little. She claims that she feels old. But I don't think of her as old. She doesn't look it and she sure doesn't act it. (Well, with the exception of the occasional stiff joints :)) Some say that I look exactly like her. I'm not sure I see the resemblance...

She is an elementary school teacher who claims every year- This is my LAST year! But, without fail, year after year she goes back. I used to think that she went back because the thought of living without her Target flow was just too scary. But I know that she goes back because she is really good at what she does and she has the ability to make a difference in young lives every day. And she has certainly made a difference in mine. She is a perfectionist-which is why she edits my blog and tells me when I missed something. (I do realize that everyone I work with is thinking of my red pen... well, now you know where I get that from!)

She likes the beach, the country, gardening, orchids and our dog. Wait, she doesn't want anyone to know that she actually likes our bad, bad, bad dog. (But I know that she secretly does.) She makes excellent waffles. Whenever I bring friends home, they request them. (Although, I personally prefer her omelets-so good!) She is fun to shop with and lunch with and she gives good advice (even when she thinks she doesn't know what to say).

She experienced more major life events at a young age than I ever have. In a very very very short span of time she finished college, started her first year teaching, met my father, married my father, built a house with my father and did it all at the time that she lost her own mother.

My mom taught me to value friends. From watching her build and maintain relationships with the women in her life, I learned that there is great value and significance in surrounding yourself with quality friends. People who will support you, challenge you, celebrate with you and sorrow with you. Family is who you make it.

God sure knew what he was doing when he made you my mother (or me your daughter). That of course is not to suggest that I think there are times when God doesn't know what he is doing... That is just crazy talk.

Oh and Mom (since I KNOW you are reading), when you like to think of me as your "strong willed child", let me remind you that Emily was the one who had to sit in the car during church because she REFUSED to put on shoes...

Happy Mother's Day! I love you and I am better because of you.

Oh and....

All work and no play?

Donna Marie (who used to work in our office..tear*) has the sweetest most proper voice with the best accent ever AND she loves to drink tea. We knew that we were kindred spirits when we would both make our afternoon cup of tea. For weeks, when 3pm would roll around and we needed that extra boost to push through the day, we would make our tea and joke about doing this:
Well, as the above photo would demonstrate, our dream of Afternoon Tea at work became a reality. Complete with mincemeat pies, scones, cucumber sandwiches and of course tea.

To those who are completely overwhelmed, baffled, or questioning everything that you know about me, this sign should explain it all:

If this sign doesn't explain it all, then you must not watch The Office. And that makes me question how or why we are friends... If you do happen to fall into that category, don't stop reading, I am an equal-opportunity friender.

*Let the record show that I miss Donna Marie with a passion... and not just because I am completing those pesky Dean Cert's in her absence. Donna Marie, if you are reading, I am patiently awaiting a little submission to passiveaggressivenotes.com :)

Is it really the thought that counts?

My sister, gotta love her, declares on the day after my birthday.... "I really wanted to get VIP tickets for you to go to the.." wait for it.... "The Extreme Monster Truck Rally" I promise those words seriously came out of her mouth. Because nothing says "Meghan" like ridiculously large trucks driving over beat up cars, airplanes and other random objects... kickin' up mud and dirt.

This is exactly the kind of thing that I really love my sister for. She knew that while I would have no legitimate desire to go to a monster truck rally, she knew that I would see the humor in it. People have seriously named their obscenely large tired vehicles names such as Raggin' Rebel, Raminator, Martial Law and my personal favorite Lil Miss Dangerous. Could you imagine the brainstorming session? Yikes.

She wanted to surprise me with those coveted tickets so much that she called in to a local radio station in an attempt to win them. Not once, but twice! After all, they were VIP tickets. And had she actually been caller #9 and snagged those tickets, you had better believe that I would have gone and I would have worn pearls to that show... Although there is a very small part of me that is terrified by what VIP status could possibly mean...)

I'm glad that she settled on giving me a gift card. Even if it did come with the following disclaimer: It may or may not have the full amount on it.

Gotta love her!

Which brings me to my rules for regifting. Who needs Emily Post, when you have me...
1. If the recipient would actually like/ use the gift- Go ahead regift.
2. Gift card- Go ahead regift. (I know others would disagree- but these are my rules.)
3. If the gift has been used (or looks like it has been used)- Give that junk to the Goodwill.
4. Homemade/ handmade items cannot be regifting. That is just rude.
5. Something terrible that you just don't want- save that for the office White Elephant exchange.

Oh, if you have some free time, skip on over to iTunes and pick up two new albums by Chris and Conrad and Jonny Diaz. They would make excellent gifts.

Dear Chris and Jonny,
You are welcome.

Day 2

I realize that my loyal followers are thinking..."Meghan, umm, it is Day 3." And yes, in the blog-a-thon it is indeed Day 3. But, I do have other things going on in my life, believe it or not.

Long before I was a runner, I was a biker. True story. And today should be a "Day 2" on the annual Challenge biking trip. For those out of the loop, Challenge had a long history in the college ministry at First Baptist Church. For nearly 30 years, as soon as spring finals ended, a large group of college students loaded up and headed out to challenge themselves physically, emotionally, spiritually, and socially. They would bike around 200 miles over the span of 4 days across great parts of our country AND they would do ministry along the way. This is the first time in 10 years that I haven't been on the trip or praying for those on the trip. With Clint's transition to Florida State, and the insurance nightmare that a trip of this nature presents, there is no Challenge this year. And it is not likely that there will be one in the future.

As I write, I am flooded with memories from these trips (after all, I did go on 7 of them! yikes- that is like 1400 miles! But let the record show....that is more than Brian Williams.) The relationships that I built with others, the ways that I learned to push myself, to provide encouragement (when everything in me resisted), and the life lessons that I was taught allow me to safely say that I learned MORE on those trips than from anything else I have done. Using the right gears makes ALL the difference. And that is one of the best analogies that I have for life.

So you ask, what's the big deal with Day 2? Day 2 was historically the MOST challenging day for me. My muscles would be sore from the 8 hours of biking the day before, I was tired from sleeping on the floor of a church...and the end was not yet in sight. On Day 2, quitting was still an option in my mind. Probably because I have yet to feel completely invested in the task. And that theme comes up so much in my life. When I am into a project enough to realize how much work it will involve or how much it is paining me... and I can't see the end... I am often very tempted with quitting. Then I remember that it is just a Day 2. Soon it will be Day 3 and then Day 4. By Day 4, I will be so invested, that a small part of me won't want it to end.

This trip taught me not to take the little things for granted, to be grateful for a 30 second shower in Niagara temperature water, to yearn for a turkey sandwich that may or may not have fallen on asphalt, to appreciate that Stu knows every word to "Copacabana", and to understand the value in yelling "Car Back!" for the trillionth time. On these trips I have eaten both the worst meal of my life (burnt beef stew) and the best meal of my life (Amish Buffet), I have been in awe of Charles Lawson, I accepted the fact that I would have to "chase a rabbit", I developed a love for the Barbie lip gloss/ sunscreen stick and I have been grateful that we didn't actually have to rename Hwy 20 and I-75 "The Stuart Pearce Memorial Interchange".

Perfect timing... Clint literally just called me. (Those who know Clint are laughing at my use of the word literally.) Well, a small part of me wanted to cry when he started shouting over the phone. "Where's the tail gunner Group1?! Tail gunner Group 1?!" It appears that I am not the only nostalgic one. I'm just glad that he didn't shout, "If you're not clapping, you're running!"

This little photo was taken at Stone Mountain in 2004? And I learned a valuable lesson on that particular trip- milk before biking is BAD! And what goes up... doesn't always come down.

To this day, I am friends with many of these women, wait....ALL of these women. And we are proud to be rocking sweat dried to our faces, spandex biking shorts, and helmet hair. You can't see it, but on my shirt is a duct tape label with the word "Diva". I can't imagine why?

Challenge, we love you and you will be missed....

Quatro de Mayo

Since Mexico hasn't really been feeling the love lately... I thought that I would give it a shout out. And I wanted my voice to be heard before everyone else!* And in the Wingate tradition, I wanted to rep "Quatro de Mayo". (For those who are in the dark... when you work at a small university in an even smaller town... it is not safe to celebrate Cinco de Mayo in public... as your students have completely taken over the 2 Mexican restaurants in town... and no one wants to celebrate at Chili's!)

Back to the Mexico shout out... Tomorrow, many Americans will forget that Mexico has been the breeding ground for kidnappings and murders and that oh so pesky H1N1 (or "swine flu" for all you media buffs)...and celebrate that country's independence. But wait.... isn't Mexico's actual Independence Day September 16th. Yes, why yes it is. Ah- what do we care! "Cinco de Mayo" sounds SO much cooler than "dieciseis de septiembre".

So what put the 5th of May on the map? Oh that's right... the Mexican army defeated the highly favored French in the Battle of Puebla. No simple task.

So, how do we celebrate? By drinking Mexican beer (and margaritas). Because nothing rubs it in the face of the French more than forgoing wine and drinking beer.

While, I can't absolutely guarantee that I will be partaking in the celebration. There is a chance that I will be with the HHC (happy hour club) at El Jalisco, it is jsut a coincidence that Cinco de Mayo is on a Tuesday this year. C'mon, chicken quesadillas are $1.99- can't pass on that! Jorge save our table!

*selfish

Because everyone loves a good photo, see below for HHC in action...

Oh.. and a photo from the Birthday celebration... because... why not?

Blog-a-thon Day #1

Last year, Lea and Debbie, in all of their creativity and competitiveness, created a challenge (I know, way too much alliteration...) to blog EVERY day in May. It is the second anniversary of that challenge and it has grown exponentially. A group of my friends (who also happen to be co-workers) have committed to the challenge. It is going to be our very own form of The Office Olympics. For all to know, here are the official rules for participation in the FSU May Blog-a-thon:

-Must post every weekday in May (weekends off- Memorial Day is a weekend).
-Mid-week vacays are NOT exempt from blogging.
-You may post about the challenge in your first blog- or as your first blog.
- For it to count as a post, you must use words... this is not a scrap booking contest. There is no specified minimum number of words or language preference. Blog in Hebrew for all we care.
- In the event of a tie, quality and quantity of posts will be judged.

Official winners will be announced at the 1st Annual May Bloggy Awards.

I am in it to win it.

Friends, here is how you can help me on my quest....
1. Comment, comment, comment.... I need affirmation.
2. Continue to provide me with the quality material that I will need to attract new readers and retain the 5 that I currently have.
3. Send photos. I will add captions.
4. Send gifts.
5. Yes, I do realize that #4 will have no direct impact on my blogging ability. I just like gifts.

In other news, I am officially out of girl scout cookies. It is going to be a rough weekend.