I thought I'd go ahead and post my job history here. Why? Because I'm bored, lol. It's as good a reason as any.
Catherine Sherman, July 1998
prep work for catering dinner for performing artists at Bliss Fest
Cross Village General Store, summer of 1999
deli help, ice cream, sorting returnables, end of night clean-up
Crow's Nest, summer of 1999
babysitting for owners
Petoskey News-Review, summer of 2000
stuffing ad fliers into the newspapers
Kelley Landscaping, one day, summer of 2000
planting trees
Dam Site Inn, Aprils through Octobers, 2000-2005
line cook, ended up working every position available
JC Penney's, winter 2000-2001
sales associate
Concord Academy Petoskey, September 2001-June 2002
paraprofessional, classrooms for grades 1, 2, 3, 4, and special-ed
City Park Grill, March 2006-August 2009
line cook, prep cook, dishwasher
Ill-Lusions, March 2009-now
sales queen
No, I didn't mess up on any dates, there were in fact a few times where I worked a full time job and a part time job, and a few times where I worked two full time jobs.
Monday, April 26, 2010
Friday, April 23, 2010
My Little Family
So there's family, there's family, and then there's family. A little clarification of that seemingly repetitive sentence is necessary, I suppose. I think that there are multiple definitions of the word family. There's the family under your roof, the family you're born into, and the family you help create - your friends that are closer than friends, your in-laws (or pseudo-in-laws, as I refer to Jeremy's family), etc.
For example, the family that I was born into includes my mom and dad, my two birth siblings, my aunt and uncle, my three deceased grandparents and my grandpa, my cousins, etc. The family I helped create includes my two "adopted" brothers, my close friends, including Aimee, Bill, Betina and Mat, Jamie-girl, and her two kids, Lola and Devon. Then, there's the family under my roof - Jeremy, me, and our two boys, which is what I'm writing about tonight.
As I mentioned before, Jeremy and I met at City Park Grill, when I hired in there. I can even tell you the exact date I was introduced to him, which was also my first day of work there: March 3, 2006. He saw me before we met, when I showed up for my second interview (I had to interview once with the then-sous chef, Brian, and had a second interview with the executive chef, Chef John Norman, the following day.), all dressed up in a pink and black plaid kilt, hose and heels, and a black satin button-down short-sleeved shirt, with my hair in an updo. I was hired that day and started work the next.
I remember when Jeremy came up to introduce himself, I was wearing an oversized loaner-coat from the office, and cleaning the fat off a corned beef brisket, preparatory to slicing it. He had on the standard black uniform, a red bandanna instead of the baseball caps everyone else was wearing, black combat boots, and two large hoop earrings. He looked like a pirate. I thought he was pretty cute. He introduced himself to me as "Jeremy, but everyone calls me Captain." I introduced myself, and at that moment, Chef walked by and said, "Captain, behave yourself."
We ended up getting to be pretty good friends over the next few months. We'd text or talk on MSN or over the phone, and we hung out outside of work a few times. I figured out finally that I was in love with him on May 21, 2006. We'd gone to see Kittie play at Streeters, down in Traverse City - the deal was that if I drove and paid for gas, he'd pay for my ticket. We went down, had dinner at McDonald's, saw the show (Know Lyfe and the Autumn Offering were the opening acts), and made it back to Petoskey for last call at Papa Lou's. Our sous chef was there, drunk and making a total ass of himself. We ended up driving him home, then went back to Jeremy's and sat outside on my car talking for a couple hours, before I left and went home.
I moved into Petoskey at the beginning of June, and got an apartment directly under his. We hung out constantly, along with his friends - my new friends - from the house behind our building, Lopp, Corey, Mat, and Lopp's friend Betina. (Mat and Betina later became a couple.)
Jeremy and I ended up becoming a couple on my 24'th birthday, June 11, 2006. (That's a story worthy of its own entry.) He moved in with me a few weeks later. We've been together ever since. That summer was quite literally one of the best of my life. I was making good money, I was in love, I was tan and thin and felt pretty for the first time ever, and most importantly, I was happy. Even though we worked opposite shifts, we still spent a lot of time together.
The day after Jeremy's 34'th birthday, I took a test and found out I was pregnant. The date was September 5'th. I was stunned. I'd had at least one miscarriage before, according to my doctor, and I honestly thought I was never going to have kids. I took seven more tests, just to make sure.
The pregnancy seemed to take forever. I read way too much about pregnancy and all the things that could possibly go wrong online. I went to the ER once, mistaking implantation cramps for the beginnings of a miscarriage. I went in a second time at 30 weeks, mistaking Braxton-Hicks contractions for the real thing.
When Matthew came, he took his sweet time in arriving - 22 hours of labor. But finally, he came, and I felt my world shift when Jeremy placed him in my arms for the first time. Nothing would ever be the same again.
I was an absolute wreck of a new mother. I had panic dreams - a bee flew in the window and stung Matthew's fontanel and pierced his brain and killed him, DHS showed up and confiscated him because I forgot to take the trash to the curb, he somehow had worms under his skin and the pediatrician told me it was because I was a bad mother, he headbutted me on the nose and killed me and Jeremy came home to find Dead Megan and Matthew on my lap covered in my blood. Dreams that seem absolutely ridiculous now, but woke me up in tears.
When I read that SIDS was more common in males than in females, that the prime age was 3-6 months old, and that it usually struck around 5:00 am, I began waking up at 3:59 am and staying awake till 6:59 am, watching him breathe. I would place two fingers on his belly every night while I waited to fall asleep, so I could monitor his breathing. I took him to the ER for mild constipation. Once, he sat up in his car seat and bumped his head on the handle - not enough to even make him cry. I wouldn't let him take a nap the rest of the day and felt his forehead (looking for a lump) so often that I literally gave him a lump.
Despite my paranoia and obsessive over-ministrations, he started growing up, and did so rapidly and healthily.
We moved from my apartment to a house a few blocks away shortly after Thanksgiving, 2006. Christmas was rapidly approaching, and I wanted to host my family's Christmas dinner at our new house, kind of a gift to my mom so that she wouldn't have to cook that year. I made up a menu, started buying things in advance, trying to keep from worrying that my period was late.
It hit 10 days late, and I finally panicked and decided to buy a test. I thought maybe it would be a funny gift for Jeremy - "Merry Christmas, honey, here's a negative pregnancy test." I couldn't be pregnant again. Matthew was only 8 months old, I was still breastfeeding, and besides, we'd used birth control.
I drove all over Petoskey, looking for a place that would still be open at 2:00 am on Christmas morning. WalMart and Glen's were closed. But Walgreen's was open. I bought one of the expensive, ClearBlue Digital tests, went home, and took it. I made Jeremy go in and read it once the timer went off. He was the one that told me I was pregnant. I was in shock.
The second pregnancy went by much faster than did the first one. I was working full time and had a toddler. I had to do physical therapy for three months - between a couple of jobs I'd had involving repeated heavy lifting, and the two pregnancies within three years, I'd developed a bulging disc in my lower back. They were able to correct it with the PT, thankfully, but I remained on Tylenol 3 for the duration of the pregnancy.
Jonah was born at 8 pm on August 22, 2008 (his labor story will be posted on his birthday). We were allowed to leave the hospital earlier than is standard for C-section patients, and we brought him home to our little house.
And here we still are. Matthew is newly 3 years old, and Jonah is 2 years and 8 months. The boys are similar in looks, but vastly different in personality. Matthew is very independent and a bit of a loner. He plays well with his brother when he feels like it, but he prefers to be left alone to do his own thing, similar to his dad as a child. Jonah is a cuddler and a people-pleaser, very outgoing. When I first saw the movie "Up," and Dug the dog said his famous line, "I have just met you and I love you," I immediately thought of Jonah. He will reach out his arms to perfect strangers, and nothing makes him happier than when we are at a family get-together and he's being handed from aunt to uncle to cousin to grandparent. He has smiles and hugs for everyone. Matthew, in the same situation, will be running around at full speed, investigating, exploring, maybe seeking out one or two people, and leading them around, naming off all the things he's found that he has words for. He enjoys showing off, as does Jonah. Both the boys are extremely stubborn - a gift from both their father and from me - but Matthew is quicker to cede his position. Jonah's a bit of a bulldozer. At one point, I didn't want Jonah climbing up on the couch unless he was seated in someone's lap, to prevent falls. Baby brother Diddy sat there, repeatedly rebuffing Jonah's attempts to climb onto the couch, and counted 46 attempts before Jonah gave up.
The boys both look far more like their father than like me, but I can see bits of myself in both of them. Matthew has reddish brown hair like I do, my hazel eyes, and the shape of our smiles are identical. Jonah has absurdly chubby cheeks that beg to be kissed, which he gets from my family, and his ears are shaped like mine as well. Matthew has the Gatica nose and Gatica feet - large, square, with very short toes. Jonah's feet are chubby, with proportionate toes like mine. Both boys have small, tan "angel-kiss" birthmarks. Matthew's is on the top of his head, and Jonah's is on his calf, in the same location as Jeremy's. Jonah also seems to have Irish eyebrows, which definitely came from my family.
Everyone agrees that Jonah looks like Jeremy. He has dark brown, nearly black hair (although it throws off red gleams in the sunlight), dark almond shaped eyes, and a complexion somewhere between mine and Jeremy's in color. (Matthew does too. Both the boys go back and forth between whose skin is darker, almost as though they're taking turns.)
Matthew, well, it's funny. When he was born, you could lay pictures of him next to pictures of Jeremy as an infant and not be able to tell a difference between the two. His face has changed drastically since he was born, and now, he looks like a blend of the two of us, although Jeremy's family all swears that he's a mini-Jeremy, and my family swears he's identical to me at that age.
Either way, everyone agrees we have beautiful children. Not to sound prejudiced (lol), but I agree. When I was pregnant with the boys, I tried to picture what they would look like when they were born. With Matthew, the best I could come up with was a mental image of myself as a baby, but with dark eyes and hair. With Jonah, I expected a duplicate of Matthew, more or less. I was surprised both times.
As for Jeremy and I, we will be celebrating our fourth anniversary as a couple in about six weeks. And no, we are not married. No, we will not be getting married. No, we have no plans of ever getting married. Let me explain.
First off, I have nothing against the concept of marriage in general. If you want to get married, fine, go for it. I am a strong supporter of legalizing gay marriage, too. I believe if you want to get married, you should be able to, male to male, male to female, female to female, hell, marry an inanimate object if you like. I don't think that gay marriage is a threat to "family" at all - who the hell says a family needs to have two different-gendered parents? I don't believe that your external plumbing affects your ability to parent. Anyway...
Jeremy and I, personally, don't believe that marriage is a necessity. First off, he comes from a broken home. My parents were separated for a year. We've both witnessed the failure of several marriages. And, this is not the 19'th century or even the beginning of the 20'th. The stigma attached to out-of-wedlock children and unwed mothers has more or less faded. Even if it hadn't, I am a strong enough person to not let it bother me if someone thinks I'm a whore for not marrying Jeremy. Why should I let someone's prejudice affect my self-worth?
Also, it's not like it's necessary to keep us together. We're going to be together for as long as we're together, regardless of what a piece of paper says. The legal status of our relationship has no bearing whatsoever on its day-to-day functionality. We work well together, just the way things stand now. Why go and change anything?
For example, the family that I was born into includes my mom and dad, my two birth siblings, my aunt and uncle, my three deceased grandparents and my grandpa, my cousins, etc. The family I helped create includes my two "adopted" brothers, my close friends, including Aimee, Bill, Betina and Mat, Jamie-girl, and her two kids, Lola and Devon. Then, there's the family under my roof - Jeremy, me, and our two boys, which is what I'm writing about tonight.
As I mentioned before, Jeremy and I met at City Park Grill, when I hired in there. I can even tell you the exact date I was introduced to him, which was also my first day of work there: March 3, 2006. He saw me before we met, when I showed up for my second interview (I had to interview once with the then-sous chef, Brian, and had a second interview with the executive chef, Chef John Norman, the following day.), all dressed up in a pink and black plaid kilt, hose and heels, and a black satin button-down short-sleeved shirt, with my hair in an updo. I was hired that day and started work the next.
I remember when Jeremy came up to introduce himself, I was wearing an oversized loaner-coat from the office, and cleaning the fat off a corned beef brisket, preparatory to slicing it. He had on the standard black uniform, a red bandanna instead of the baseball caps everyone else was wearing, black combat boots, and two large hoop earrings. He looked like a pirate. I thought he was pretty cute. He introduced himself to me as "Jeremy, but everyone calls me Captain." I introduced myself, and at that moment, Chef walked by and said, "Captain, behave yourself."
We ended up getting to be pretty good friends over the next few months. We'd text or talk on MSN or over the phone, and we hung out outside of work a few times. I figured out finally that I was in love with him on May 21, 2006. We'd gone to see Kittie play at Streeters, down in Traverse City - the deal was that if I drove and paid for gas, he'd pay for my ticket. We went down, had dinner at McDonald's, saw the show (Know Lyfe and the Autumn Offering were the opening acts), and made it back to Petoskey for last call at Papa Lou's. Our sous chef was there, drunk and making a total ass of himself. We ended up driving him home, then went back to Jeremy's and sat outside on my car talking for a couple hours, before I left and went home.
I moved into Petoskey at the beginning of June, and got an apartment directly under his. We hung out constantly, along with his friends - my new friends - from the house behind our building, Lopp, Corey, Mat, and Lopp's friend Betina. (Mat and Betina later became a couple.)
Jeremy and I ended up becoming a couple on my 24'th birthday, June 11, 2006. (That's a story worthy of its own entry.) He moved in with me a few weeks later. We've been together ever since. That summer was quite literally one of the best of my life. I was making good money, I was in love, I was tan and thin and felt pretty for the first time ever, and most importantly, I was happy. Even though we worked opposite shifts, we still spent a lot of time together.
The day after Jeremy's 34'th birthday, I took a test and found out I was pregnant. The date was September 5'th. I was stunned. I'd had at least one miscarriage before, according to my doctor, and I honestly thought I was never going to have kids. I took seven more tests, just to make sure.
The pregnancy seemed to take forever. I read way too much about pregnancy and all the things that could possibly go wrong online. I went to the ER once, mistaking implantation cramps for the beginnings of a miscarriage. I went in a second time at 30 weeks, mistaking Braxton-Hicks contractions for the real thing.
When Matthew came, he took his sweet time in arriving - 22 hours of labor. But finally, he came, and I felt my world shift when Jeremy placed him in my arms for the first time. Nothing would ever be the same again.
I was an absolute wreck of a new mother. I had panic dreams - a bee flew in the window and stung Matthew's fontanel and pierced his brain and killed him, DHS showed up and confiscated him because I forgot to take the trash to the curb, he somehow had worms under his skin and the pediatrician told me it was because I was a bad mother, he headbutted me on the nose and killed me and Jeremy came home to find Dead Megan and Matthew on my lap covered in my blood. Dreams that seem absolutely ridiculous now, but woke me up in tears.
When I read that SIDS was more common in males than in females, that the prime age was 3-6 months old, and that it usually struck around 5:00 am, I began waking up at 3:59 am and staying awake till 6:59 am, watching him breathe. I would place two fingers on his belly every night while I waited to fall asleep, so I could monitor his breathing. I took him to the ER for mild constipation. Once, he sat up in his car seat and bumped his head on the handle - not enough to even make him cry. I wouldn't let him take a nap the rest of the day and felt his forehead (looking for a lump) so often that I literally gave him a lump.
Despite my paranoia and obsessive over-ministrations, he started growing up, and did so rapidly and healthily.
We moved from my apartment to a house a few blocks away shortly after Thanksgiving, 2006. Christmas was rapidly approaching, and I wanted to host my family's Christmas dinner at our new house, kind of a gift to my mom so that she wouldn't have to cook that year. I made up a menu, started buying things in advance, trying to keep from worrying that my period was late.
It hit 10 days late, and I finally panicked and decided to buy a test. I thought maybe it would be a funny gift for Jeremy - "Merry Christmas, honey, here's a negative pregnancy test." I couldn't be pregnant again. Matthew was only 8 months old, I was still breastfeeding, and besides, we'd used birth control.
I drove all over Petoskey, looking for a place that would still be open at 2:00 am on Christmas morning. WalMart and Glen's were closed. But Walgreen's was open. I bought one of the expensive, ClearBlue Digital tests, went home, and took it. I made Jeremy go in and read it once the timer went off. He was the one that told me I was pregnant. I was in shock.
The second pregnancy went by much faster than did the first one. I was working full time and had a toddler. I had to do physical therapy for three months - between a couple of jobs I'd had involving repeated heavy lifting, and the two pregnancies within three years, I'd developed a bulging disc in my lower back. They were able to correct it with the PT, thankfully, but I remained on Tylenol 3 for the duration of the pregnancy.
Jonah was born at 8 pm on August 22, 2008 (his labor story will be posted on his birthday). We were allowed to leave the hospital earlier than is standard for C-section patients, and we brought him home to our little house.
And here we still are. Matthew is newly 3 years old, and Jonah is 2 years and 8 months. The boys are similar in looks, but vastly different in personality. Matthew is very independent and a bit of a loner. He plays well with his brother when he feels like it, but he prefers to be left alone to do his own thing, similar to his dad as a child. Jonah is a cuddler and a people-pleaser, very outgoing. When I first saw the movie "Up," and Dug the dog said his famous line, "I have just met you and I love you," I immediately thought of Jonah. He will reach out his arms to perfect strangers, and nothing makes him happier than when we are at a family get-together and he's being handed from aunt to uncle to cousin to grandparent. He has smiles and hugs for everyone. Matthew, in the same situation, will be running around at full speed, investigating, exploring, maybe seeking out one or two people, and leading them around, naming off all the things he's found that he has words for. He enjoys showing off, as does Jonah. Both the boys are extremely stubborn - a gift from both their father and from me - but Matthew is quicker to cede his position. Jonah's a bit of a bulldozer. At one point, I didn't want Jonah climbing up on the couch unless he was seated in someone's lap, to prevent falls. Baby brother Diddy sat there, repeatedly rebuffing Jonah's attempts to climb onto the couch, and counted 46 attempts before Jonah gave up.
The boys both look far more like their father than like me, but I can see bits of myself in both of them. Matthew has reddish brown hair like I do, my hazel eyes, and the shape of our smiles are identical. Jonah has absurdly chubby cheeks that beg to be kissed, which he gets from my family, and his ears are shaped like mine as well. Matthew has the Gatica nose and Gatica feet - large, square, with very short toes. Jonah's feet are chubby, with proportionate toes like mine. Both boys have small, tan "angel-kiss" birthmarks. Matthew's is on the top of his head, and Jonah's is on his calf, in the same location as Jeremy's. Jonah also seems to have Irish eyebrows, which definitely came from my family.
Everyone agrees that Jonah looks like Jeremy. He has dark brown, nearly black hair (although it throws off red gleams in the sunlight), dark almond shaped eyes, and a complexion somewhere between mine and Jeremy's in color. (Matthew does too. Both the boys go back and forth between whose skin is darker, almost as though they're taking turns.)
Matthew, well, it's funny. When he was born, you could lay pictures of him next to pictures of Jeremy as an infant and not be able to tell a difference between the two. His face has changed drastically since he was born, and now, he looks like a blend of the two of us, although Jeremy's family all swears that he's a mini-Jeremy, and my family swears he's identical to me at that age.
Either way, everyone agrees we have beautiful children. Not to sound prejudiced (lol), but I agree. When I was pregnant with the boys, I tried to picture what they would look like when they were born. With Matthew, the best I could come up with was a mental image of myself as a baby, but with dark eyes and hair. With Jonah, I expected a duplicate of Matthew, more or less. I was surprised both times.
As for Jeremy and I, we will be celebrating our fourth anniversary as a couple in about six weeks. And no, we are not married. No, we will not be getting married. No, we have no plans of ever getting married. Let me explain.
First off, I have nothing against the concept of marriage in general. If you want to get married, fine, go for it. I am a strong supporter of legalizing gay marriage, too. I believe if you want to get married, you should be able to, male to male, male to female, female to female, hell, marry an inanimate object if you like. I don't think that gay marriage is a threat to "family" at all - who the hell says a family needs to have two different-gendered parents? I don't believe that your external plumbing affects your ability to parent. Anyway...
Jeremy and I, personally, don't believe that marriage is a necessity. First off, he comes from a broken home. My parents were separated for a year. We've both witnessed the failure of several marriages. And, this is not the 19'th century or even the beginning of the 20'th. The stigma attached to out-of-wedlock children and unwed mothers has more or less faded. Even if it hadn't, I am a strong enough person to not let it bother me if someone thinks I'm a whore for not marrying Jeremy. Why should I let someone's prejudice affect my self-worth?
Also, it's not like it's necessary to keep us together. We're going to be together for as long as we're together, regardless of what a piece of paper says. The legal status of our relationship has no bearing whatsoever on its day-to-day functionality. We work well together, just the way things stand now. Why go and change anything?
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Introduction, Part 2
***Okay, so I'm really not that good at writing introduction-type entries, so bear with me if this is stilted and wanders. Thanks.***
Hi, I'm Megan. I'm assuming you've gathered that much, at least, from the blog title and from some of my prior entries.
Let's start with the physical stuff and get that out of the way. I'm 5'0", with a thick frame, and I weigh between 125-130 lbs, depending on the time of day and whose scales I'm using. I have hazel eyes that tend toward honey-brown most days, a crooked nose, and pale skin that tans up dark and easily in the summer, with a few dark-brown freckles scattered across my arms, shoulders, and cheekbones. I have high cheekbones, tiny ears, short thick fingers, legs, and toes, and I wear a size 5 1/2 shoe. My hair is naturally dark brown with a lot of red in it, but the actual color varies frequently. At the moment, it's buzzed off to 3/4" long and dyed black-blue. I have thick Irish eyebrows that I keep thinned out as much as possible, dimples by my mouth, one on my chin, and one oddball one on my right cheekbone, just under my eye. My feet are flat, and my toenails are usually painted some shade of purple. I have broad shoulders and what my boyfriend Jeremy describes as an angular face. There's a dark purple scar next to my left tearduct, another one going across the bridge of my nose, one under my lower lip, and a razor-thin one that runs through my right eyebrow, only visible in the way that it affects the shape of said eyebrow. I have three tattoos, all on my back, seven piercings in each ear, one in my navel, and one in my right nostril.
More facts: I'm twenty-seven years old, twenty-eight on June 11. I'm a Gemini. I was born by c-section at 10:58 pm, in 1982. My boyfriend and I will have been together for four years on my birthday. We have two young sons, Matthew Elliott, who just turned three on Monday, and Jonah Lee, who will be two in August.
I'm blunt and brutally honest a lot of the time, but I can be tactful when the situation warrants.
I'm the oldest of three birth siblings and two "adopted" siblings. Jeni is the my only sister. Travis is my birth brother. Scotty and Andrew are my two "adopted" brothers. My parents will be celebrating their 31'st anniversary in June. My mom is the special education teacher at Concord Academy in Petoskey, and my dad is an artist.
I've worked several different jobs, but spent the majority of my working life in kitchens. At the moment though, I work part-time at Ill-Lusions in Petoskey. It's a little hole-in-the-wall shop that sells trick card decks, novelties, magic tricks and supplies, Lucky 13 tees and shoes, Halloween costumes, bachelorette party supplies, adult greeting cards, King Kerosin and Busted Knuckle tees, Rockett tees, and band tees. The owner is one of my good friends, and working for him has been one of the best jobs of my life.
Before Ill-Lusions, I worked at City Park Grill for three and a half years, which is where I met Jeremy. It was educational working there - I got to work under a real chef, John Norman, and I learned how to keep my temper in check from working with a certain d-bag who shall remain nameless here. However, if you've worked at City Park within the past seven or eight years, you know who I'm talking about. He works nights, always has to be right, and is extremely condescending. It's so good not to have to work with him anymore. *insert sigh of relief here
What else? I hate math and love reading. I'll read just about anything. My favorite authors include Dorothy Parker, John Steinbeck, JD Salinger, John Irving, Anthony Bourdain, Ann Rule, Hunter S. Thompson, Tom Robbins, and J.R.R. Tolkien. I'm an extremely fast reader. I'm also a bit of a spelling and grammar freak. Jeremy will have me proofread sales letters for him and ask me to "PLEASE don't point out what's spelled wrong and where the missing commas are, just tell me if you like the content."
I dropped out of high school two weeks into my junior year. When I was twenty, I found out that the Michigan Works learning lab did high school completion courses instead of just offering classes to get a GED. So, I went back to school. That year was a busy one for me. I was working full time at the Dam Site Inn from April-October, working at Concord Academy as a paraprofessional (read: classroom aide) from September-June, and going to school at the learning lab. It paid off though. I graduated high school two weeks after my 21'st birthday.
I've been arrested twice, although neither charge will show up on my record. One was a misdemeanor, and the other was a traffic charge, for violating my learner's permit. I've never been to jail, though.
What I call my "day-to-day" friends, meaning the ones who are involved in my life on a more or less day-to-day basis, are for the most part older than I am (my friend Melissa VanNorman and her husband Travis are the exception. I'm not counting my sister's fiance in this - he's younger than me, but he's already family, and will be legally so in a few weeks). For some reason, I've always preferred to hang out with people older than me, and since I've met most of my friends through Jeremy, they tend to be closer in age to him.
I've also preferred to date older guys. Jeremy is no exception - he's ten years older than me. And here is where I take a break from talking about me to tell you about him.
Like I said, he's ten years older than me. He is the love of my life and father of my children. If you were to crack open my chest and look at my heart, you'd find his image engraved over a large portion of it. We've been together nearly four years, like I said before, which is the longest I've ever been in a relationship. He's 5'7", a little on the chubby side (which I love), heavily tattooed, and both intelligent and stubborn, enough so to keep me from getting bored. Almost all my prior relationships were casualties of boredom. He has a day job as the lunch cook at City Park Grill, but what he does, where his heart lies career-wise, is graphic web design. He's working like crazy to get that business off the ground, so he can retire from cooking and be a work-from-home dad. I fully support this. In order to avoid making myself sound angelic about my support, I do hereby admit to being jealous of his computer at times, and being frustrated about the amount of time he spends on it, on occasion, but underneath the jealousy lies my certainty that the business will take off, he will get to be a stay-home dad and full time graphic web designer, and that he'll get to retire from cooking and make enough money that we don't have to juggle bills anymore.
Yes, we do have to juggle bills in the winter. Petoskey is a tourist town for the most part, and food service is dependent upon customers, so right when bills for heat and electricity spike, business at the local restaurants falls off and hours get cut. However, we always get by, maybe ordering groceries from the Angel Food Network on occasion, and maybe making partial pays from time to time, but, we get through. We're both survivors.
Jeremy balances me out. My mom says that he keeps me grounded, which is true. I'm a worrier by nature, and I'm fairly high strung. Jeremy is laid back, very rarely worries, and gets me to be spontaneous on occasion, which is good for me, I suppose.
His hair is black, and he has dark brown eyes. He's half Mexican, on his dad's side, and is originally from Flint, but moved up here to Petoskey in 2001. On Devil's Night, to be precise. Both his ears are pierced, and he recently cut his hair for the first time since Matthew was born. He speaks in a very soft voice, and has a broad sense of humor like I do. He's been cooking for over 20 years, but has also worked numerous other jobs, including one in a bucket factory, one going cross-country with his grandpa selling stuff that his grandpa had made (Grandpa Dallas is a carpenter), and one working at the Capitol Theater in Flint, doing music promotions. Go ahead and think of a band that came out in the 1990's and was anywhere from semi-famous to very famous, and the odds are extremely high that Jeremy worked with them. That includes Pantera, Rage Against the Machine, Downset, and the Rugby Mothers, along with a bunch more I can't remember. So there's another mark in Jeremy's favor, he never runs out of stories to tell me, lol.
Back to me. What else?
I'm fascinated with Michigan lighthouses and ghost towns. I like doing stamped cross stitch but lack the patience for counted cross stitch. I like loom-knitting, but again, lack the patience for needle-knitting and crocheting. I love to cook and bake. I like doing punch needle embroidery too. I tried taking up crazy quilting at one point, but lost interest in it due to not having a sewing machine. I write poetry and short stories when inspiration hits. I'd rather text than talk on the phone. In fact, I have a bit of a phone phobia. I'm all right calling up my parents and Bill, but anyone else, even Jeremy, and my palms get sweaty and my heart starts racing. Same thing when anyone else calls me. I'm all right after a couple seconds, and can carry on a conversation quite well, but that first minute is very close to a mild panic attack for some reason.
I don't do drugs, and I only get drunk two or three times a year. I'm not a big fan of wine, unless it's sweet (I love sangria, especially my tropical variety, which I will post the recipe for at some point), and I can't stand beer. I also don't do well on clear liquor for some reason, so I almost always drink either Captain and Coke or shots of straight Captain with a chaser of some sort. My friend Joe introduced me to Jager shakers a couple months ago, and while I enjoyed the flavor, I did not enjoy the way I still tasted Jagermeister 24 hours later, so those will most likely be avoided.
My ethnic heritage is Irish, English, Scottish, and Cherokee. My favorite foods are cheese ravioli, cheese tortellini, loaded baked potato soup, bacon, french fries, fresh broccoli with Italian dressing, and sausage gravy and biscuits. Shellfish and fish give me hives. I like bacon and pineapple on my pizza, or if it's a specialty pizza, I love a good chicken alfredo pizza.
And, that's about all I can think of to tell you about me.
Hi, I'm Megan. I'm assuming you've gathered that much, at least, from the blog title and from some of my prior entries.
Let's start with the physical stuff and get that out of the way. I'm 5'0", with a thick frame, and I weigh between 125-130 lbs, depending on the time of day and whose scales I'm using. I have hazel eyes that tend toward honey-brown most days, a crooked nose, and pale skin that tans up dark and easily in the summer, with a few dark-brown freckles scattered across my arms, shoulders, and cheekbones. I have high cheekbones, tiny ears, short thick fingers, legs, and toes, and I wear a size 5 1/2 shoe. My hair is naturally dark brown with a lot of red in it, but the actual color varies frequently. At the moment, it's buzzed off to 3/4" long and dyed black-blue. I have thick Irish eyebrows that I keep thinned out as much as possible, dimples by my mouth, one on my chin, and one oddball one on my right cheekbone, just under my eye. My feet are flat, and my toenails are usually painted some shade of purple. I have broad shoulders and what my boyfriend Jeremy describes as an angular face. There's a dark purple scar next to my left tearduct, another one going across the bridge of my nose, one under my lower lip, and a razor-thin one that runs through my right eyebrow, only visible in the way that it affects the shape of said eyebrow. I have three tattoos, all on my back, seven piercings in each ear, one in my navel, and one in my right nostril.
More facts: I'm twenty-seven years old, twenty-eight on June 11. I'm a Gemini. I was born by c-section at 10:58 pm, in 1982. My boyfriend and I will have been together for four years on my birthday. We have two young sons, Matthew Elliott, who just turned three on Monday, and Jonah Lee, who will be two in August.
I'm blunt and brutally honest a lot of the time, but I can be tactful when the situation warrants.
I'm the oldest of three birth siblings and two "adopted" siblings. Jeni is the my only sister. Travis is my birth brother. Scotty and Andrew are my two "adopted" brothers. My parents will be celebrating their 31'st anniversary in June. My mom is the special education teacher at Concord Academy in Petoskey, and my dad is an artist.
I've worked several different jobs, but spent the majority of my working life in kitchens. At the moment though, I work part-time at Ill-Lusions in Petoskey. It's a little hole-in-the-wall shop that sells trick card decks, novelties, magic tricks and supplies, Lucky 13 tees and shoes, Halloween costumes, bachelorette party supplies, adult greeting cards, King Kerosin and Busted Knuckle tees, Rockett tees, and band tees. The owner is one of my good friends, and working for him has been one of the best jobs of my life.
Before Ill-Lusions, I worked at City Park Grill for three and a half years, which is where I met Jeremy. It was educational working there - I got to work under a real chef, John Norman, and I learned how to keep my temper in check from working with a certain d-bag who shall remain nameless here. However, if you've worked at City Park within the past seven or eight years, you know who I'm talking about. He works nights, always has to be right, and is extremely condescending. It's so good not to have to work with him anymore. *insert sigh of relief here
What else? I hate math and love reading. I'll read just about anything. My favorite authors include Dorothy Parker, John Steinbeck, JD Salinger, John Irving, Anthony Bourdain, Ann Rule, Hunter S. Thompson, Tom Robbins, and J.R.R. Tolkien. I'm an extremely fast reader. I'm also a bit of a spelling and grammar freak. Jeremy will have me proofread sales letters for him and ask me to "PLEASE don't point out what's spelled wrong and where the missing commas are, just tell me if you like the content."
I dropped out of high school two weeks into my junior year. When I was twenty, I found out that the Michigan Works learning lab did high school completion courses instead of just offering classes to get a GED. So, I went back to school. That year was a busy one for me. I was working full time at the Dam Site Inn from April-October, working at Concord Academy as a paraprofessional (read: classroom aide) from September-June, and going to school at the learning lab. It paid off though. I graduated high school two weeks after my 21'st birthday.
I've been arrested twice, although neither charge will show up on my record. One was a misdemeanor, and the other was a traffic charge, for violating my learner's permit. I've never been to jail, though.
What I call my "day-to-day" friends, meaning the ones who are involved in my life on a more or less day-to-day basis, are for the most part older than I am (my friend Melissa VanNorman and her husband Travis are the exception. I'm not counting my sister's fiance in this - he's younger than me, but he's already family, and will be legally so in a few weeks). For some reason, I've always preferred to hang out with people older than me, and since I've met most of my friends through Jeremy, they tend to be closer in age to him.
I've also preferred to date older guys. Jeremy is no exception - he's ten years older than me. And here is where I take a break from talking about me to tell you about him.
Like I said, he's ten years older than me. He is the love of my life and father of my children. If you were to crack open my chest and look at my heart, you'd find his image engraved over a large portion of it. We've been together nearly four years, like I said before, which is the longest I've ever been in a relationship. He's 5'7", a little on the chubby side (which I love), heavily tattooed, and both intelligent and stubborn, enough so to keep me from getting bored. Almost all my prior relationships were casualties of boredom. He has a day job as the lunch cook at City Park Grill, but what he does, where his heart lies career-wise, is graphic web design. He's working like crazy to get that business off the ground, so he can retire from cooking and be a work-from-home dad. I fully support this. In order to avoid making myself sound angelic about my support, I do hereby admit to being jealous of his computer at times, and being frustrated about the amount of time he spends on it, on occasion, but underneath the jealousy lies my certainty that the business will take off, he will get to be a stay-home dad and full time graphic web designer, and that he'll get to retire from cooking and make enough money that we don't have to juggle bills anymore.
Yes, we do have to juggle bills in the winter. Petoskey is a tourist town for the most part, and food service is dependent upon customers, so right when bills for heat and electricity spike, business at the local restaurants falls off and hours get cut. However, we always get by, maybe ordering groceries from the Angel Food Network on occasion, and maybe making partial pays from time to time, but, we get through. We're both survivors.
Jeremy balances me out. My mom says that he keeps me grounded, which is true. I'm a worrier by nature, and I'm fairly high strung. Jeremy is laid back, very rarely worries, and gets me to be spontaneous on occasion, which is good for me, I suppose.
His hair is black, and he has dark brown eyes. He's half Mexican, on his dad's side, and is originally from Flint, but moved up here to Petoskey in 2001. On Devil's Night, to be precise. Both his ears are pierced, and he recently cut his hair for the first time since Matthew was born. He speaks in a very soft voice, and has a broad sense of humor like I do. He's been cooking for over 20 years, but has also worked numerous other jobs, including one in a bucket factory, one going cross-country with his grandpa selling stuff that his grandpa had made (Grandpa Dallas is a carpenter), and one working at the Capitol Theater in Flint, doing music promotions. Go ahead and think of a band that came out in the 1990's and was anywhere from semi-famous to very famous, and the odds are extremely high that Jeremy worked with them. That includes Pantera, Rage Against the Machine, Downset, and the Rugby Mothers, along with a bunch more I can't remember. So there's another mark in Jeremy's favor, he never runs out of stories to tell me, lol.
Back to me. What else?
I'm fascinated with Michigan lighthouses and ghost towns. I like doing stamped cross stitch but lack the patience for counted cross stitch. I like loom-knitting, but again, lack the patience for needle-knitting and crocheting. I love to cook and bake. I like doing punch needle embroidery too. I tried taking up crazy quilting at one point, but lost interest in it due to not having a sewing machine. I write poetry and short stories when inspiration hits. I'd rather text than talk on the phone. In fact, I have a bit of a phone phobia. I'm all right calling up my parents and Bill, but anyone else, even Jeremy, and my palms get sweaty and my heart starts racing. Same thing when anyone else calls me. I'm all right after a couple seconds, and can carry on a conversation quite well, but that first minute is very close to a mild panic attack for some reason.
I don't do drugs, and I only get drunk two or three times a year. I'm not a big fan of wine, unless it's sweet (I love sangria, especially my tropical variety, which I will post the recipe for at some point), and I can't stand beer. I also don't do well on clear liquor for some reason, so I almost always drink either Captain and Coke or shots of straight Captain with a chaser of some sort. My friend Joe introduced me to Jager shakers a couple months ago, and while I enjoyed the flavor, I did not enjoy the way I still tasted Jagermeister 24 hours later, so those will most likely be avoided.
My ethnic heritage is Irish, English, Scottish, and Cherokee. My favorite foods are cheese ravioli, cheese tortellini, loaded baked potato soup, bacon, french fries, fresh broccoli with Italian dressing, and sausage gravy and biscuits. Shellfish and fish give me hives. I like bacon and pineapple on my pizza, or if it's a specialty pizza, I love a good chicken alfredo pizza.
And, that's about all I can think of to tell you about me.
A Few Recipes
As promised before, here are the three recipes.
Wild Mushroom Soup:
(adapted from Mushroom Soup recipe, Les Halles Cookbook by Anthony Bourdain)
8 tbsp butter, divided
3 shallots, thinly sliced
12 oz wild mushrooms, cleaned of any dirt, plus a few nice ones for garnish
4 cups chicken stock (do not use bouillon cubes for this. Too salty. If you don't have the means to use homemade stock, use the boxed Tetra-Pak kind, not the canned kind)
1 sprig fresh parsley
2 oz (one shot) good Sherry (not the cooking Sherry - again, too salty. Will ruin your soup)
salt and pepper
In medium saucepan, melt 2 tbsp butter over medium heat. Add shallots and cook, stirring often, till soft and translucent.
Add 12 oz mushrooms and remaining butter. Let cook for 8 minutes, stirring, making sure onion DOES NOT brown. Stir in chicken stock and parsley and bring to a boil. Immediately reduce heat to low and simmer for one hour.
After an hour, remove parsley and discard. Remove soup from heat and let cool 10 minutes. Transfer to blender and blend at high speed till smooth. Do this in batches, and hold lid down on blender with all your weight, so that the pressure of the steam won't blow the lid off the blender and cause you to get a faceful of blazing hot mushroom goo. Once each batch is done, transfer it back to the pot.
Once all the soup has been blended and returned to the pot, season to taste with salt and pepper, place back on the stove, and bring back to a simmer. Add sherry, mix well, and serve. Add a few whole or sliced fresh mushrooms on top for garnish if desired.
This recipe works well with morels, oyster mushrooms, chanterelles, shiitakes, and even button mushrooms.
Easy Fudgy Brownies
1/3 cup real butter
1 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
3/4 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tbsp vanilla
5 heaping teaspoons cocoa
Melt butter, add sugar, then egg. Add dry ingredients. Mix ingredients well together by hand. Some lumps are allowable - you don't want to overmix your brownies, as they'll become tough. Put in greased 9" round pan. Bake in 375°F oven for 20 minutes, or until done. Ice while still warm. Keep covered. This particular brownie recipe gets stale very fast.
Buttercream Frosting
2 sticks butter (real butter, not margarine, and not shortening)
3/4 box Domino's confectioner's sugar (the 16-oz box)
4 tbsp heavy cream to start (I buy a half-pint of cream to work with)
Cream together butter and sugar using the paddle attachment on my KitchenAid mixer. Add 4 tbsp of cream and mix until thoroughly combined. Switch to wire whisk and beat for five minutes to aerate frosting. Check consistency and add more cream if necessary, working with one tbsp at a time.
Wild Mushroom Soup:
(adapted from Mushroom Soup recipe, Les Halles Cookbook by Anthony Bourdain)
8 tbsp butter, divided
3 shallots, thinly sliced
12 oz wild mushrooms, cleaned of any dirt, plus a few nice ones for garnish
4 cups chicken stock (do not use bouillon cubes for this. Too salty. If you don't have the means to use homemade stock, use the boxed Tetra-Pak kind, not the canned kind)
1 sprig fresh parsley
2 oz (one shot) good Sherry (not the cooking Sherry - again, too salty. Will ruin your soup)
salt and pepper
In medium saucepan, melt 2 tbsp butter over medium heat. Add shallots and cook, stirring often, till soft and translucent.
Add 12 oz mushrooms and remaining butter. Let cook for 8 minutes, stirring, making sure onion DOES NOT brown. Stir in chicken stock and parsley and bring to a boil. Immediately reduce heat to low and simmer for one hour.
After an hour, remove parsley and discard. Remove soup from heat and let cool 10 minutes. Transfer to blender and blend at high speed till smooth. Do this in batches, and hold lid down on blender with all your weight, so that the pressure of the steam won't blow the lid off the blender and cause you to get a faceful of blazing hot mushroom goo. Once each batch is done, transfer it back to the pot.
Once all the soup has been blended and returned to the pot, season to taste with salt and pepper, place back on the stove, and bring back to a simmer. Add sherry, mix well, and serve. Add a few whole or sliced fresh mushrooms on top for garnish if desired.
This recipe works well with morels, oyster mushrooms, chanterelles, shiitakes, and even button mushrooms.
Easy Fudgy Brownies
1/3 cup real butter
1 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
3/4 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tbsp vanilla
5 heaping teaspoons cocoa
Melt butter, add sugar, then egg. Add dry ingredients. Mix ingredients well together by hand. Some lumps are allowable - you don't want to overmix your brownies, as they'll become tough. Put in greased 9" round pan. Bake in 375°F oven for 20 minutes, or until done. Ice while still warm. Keep covered. This particular brownie recipe gets stale very fast.
Buttercream Frosting
2 sticks butter (real butter, not margarine, and not shortening)
3/4 box Domino's confectioner's sugar (the 16-oz box)
4 tbsp heavy cream to start (I buy a half-pint of cream to work with)
Cream together butter and sugar using the paddle attachment on my KitchenAid mixer. Add 4 tbsp of cream and mix until thoroughly combined. Switch to wire whisk and beat for five minutes to aerate frosting. Check consistency and add more cream if necessary, working with one tbsp at a time.
Another Day
So today will be a day of multiple posts. One regular, one recipe, and one of the ones I hand-wrote while our internet was shut off. Here's the first.
If you've never heard of TWLOHA before, I recommend checking it out. The acronym stands for "To Write Love On Her Arms." Today is TWLOHA Day. Before I go any farther, I have to say that this is not officially recognized by the TWLOHA organization. Someone on Facebook organized it to raise awareness, and it went viral. Official or not, I'm participating, just as I did in the last one. All you have to do to participate is write the word "love" on one of your arms, take a picture, make it your user pic on Facebook, and be ready to explain about the organization. Here's my arm today:
And here's my arm from last time:
I could explain what it's all about, but I wouldn't do nearly as good a job as the people who started the movement, so here's the link to it. Suffice to say that I, along with way too many of my friends, have had our own bouts with depression, addiction, and self-injury. This is a cause that I wholeheartedly support, and if you haven't clicked the link and read the text yet, please, do so. It could be your daughter, son, niece, nephew, or friend. Depression is becoming more and more common among young people, and despite the advances that have been made over the past few decades, it's still highly stigmatized.
/end PSA here.
Anyway, things have been more or less the same as usual around here. We celebrated Matthew's third birthday on Saturday with a small family get-together. The weather was nasty, of course - the only one of Matthew's days that have had nice weather was the day he was born (as far as I know - it looked nice outside). Ever since, it's either rained or snowed or both. Regardless, he still had a good day. Unfortunately, Jeremy's parents (known to my boys as Shamma, Pops, and Grandma Dee) weren't able to make it up, and neither was Little Al or Lisa. Shamma sent her gift for Matthew north with us after our Easter visit, though, and Pops and Dee will be coming up later and we'll re-celebrate then.
Thankfully, my mom and dad (aka Pawpaw and Meemaw), my sister Jeni, her fiance Andrew (Aunt Denny and Unca Cocoa) and my niece Jessica (Dessie), my brother Travis (Unca Hockey) and my brother Andrew (Unca Diddy) were all able to come. We kept it very low-key, just hung out, watched the kids play, talked with each other, had grilled hot dogs and my mom's potato salad for dinner, and did cake and presents immediately after.
A note about the cake. I had originally wanted to do a double layered chocolate cake with a picture of Donald Duck (one of Matthew's favorites, referred to as "Dah-Duck") on top. To this end, I modified my buttercream frosting recipe to make it easier to pipe, and Andrew's mom Mary was totally kick-ass and generously loaned me her unopened cake decorating kit and box of frosting tints. Things didn't quite work out though.
For starters, my cake layers were 9" rounds. I wouldn't have had much room to write "Happy Birthday Matthew" on there once I got Donald's head on. Then, Matthew was watching me mix the cakes. At his request, they were going to be chocowate. As he watched me measure out cocoa, he started demanding "Mo chocowate?" I added a little more. "Mo chocowate?" Okay, a little bit more. This kept up until finally, I looked at him and said, "Would you just like Mama to make you a big brownie for a cake?" His eyes lit up, and he said "Pwease? Chocowate? Mmm. I sick." (Which he was, he had a chest cold.) How could I resist? I scratched the recipe I was using and made two large 9" round brownies.
Now, my brownies are thick, fudgy, and super heavy. Buttercream is fluffy and slippery, due to the, you know, butter. This is where I decided to frost them separately and write happy birthday on one and do Donald on the other. This would also come in handy in case anyone had to leave before cake and present time - I could give them a piece to take with, while still leaving Donald intact for Matthew. (Good thinking on my part, as Trav had to leave before Matthew opened his gifts.)
The day of the party arrived. My brownies were cooled and I was ready to frost. I also woke up with a killer migraine left over from the day before and the back of my throat was scratchy (precursor to the bug I have now). Oh well. I'm a mom. Time to suck it up, fake like I'm feeling peachy, and decorate my boy's cake. Not gonna let the fact that I feel like crap spoil Matthew's big day.
Let it be said here that I am NOT an artist, with drawing, painting, etc. I can paint a picture with words, no problem. But when it comes to trying to recreate a picture on paper, canvas, whatever, I suck. Seriously. I can't draw a straight line with a ruler. Let it also be said that migraines tend to make my hands very unsteady.
Knowing my lack of drawing abilities, I'd asked Jeremy to print a few pictures of Donald for me. One was to be used for reference, and the other would be cut into pieces for use as tracing stencils. I think I could have pulled it off if my hands hadn't been so shaky. But on Saturday, it just wasn't happening. So, no Donald cake for Matthew. They both got covered with white buttercream, and I tinted some frosting to a very pretty blue shade and piped "Happy Birthday Matthew" onto one of them. He didn't seem to mind at all.
He got spoiled rotten with presents, too. Jeni, Jessie, and Andrew got him a giant package of Mega-Bloks, aka Duplo blocks, or whatever you want to call the oversized Legos. He loves them. Mom and Dad got him another package of Mega-Bloks and a really cook book of five different puzzles from the Pixar movie "Cars," which is one of his favorites. Matthew had asked "Unca Hockey" to give him "chocowate" for his birthday, and so Travis showed up with a 44-oz bag of plain M&M's. If you haven't seen a 44-oz package of M&M's before, it's freaking huge. Matthew's eyes lit up! Shamma got him this kick-ass Big Wheel tricycle. It's the Go, Diego, Go! themed one, with all sorts of noisemaking gadgets on the handlebars, a seat that adjusts to three different positions (so that it'll grow with him), and operational turn signals. We got him a toy bowling set (he'd played with a stuffed one at Pops and Dee's house and loved it, and he loves playing the bowling app on Jeremy's iPhone) and a Lightning McQueen Hot Wheels car. He's been playing with all his gifts more or less non-stop since Saturday evening. It was a good day.
His actual birthday was on Monday - he turned three at exactly 4:59 pm. His godmother, Jamie-girl, sent his gifts from her over that day. We didn't do anything real special - I let him run around naked all day, since that seems to be his favorite thing to do now, we let him pick out his own dinner (turkey and cheddar Lunchable, with plenty of M&M's for dessert), and he didn't get scolded. I let him play in the kitchen a little bit too, with plenty of supervision, of course. Jeremy had to work, and I went and babysat Lola and Devon so that Jamie-girl could go to her college course, like I do every Monday.
Jamie-girl got him some pretty cool stuff too - a couple outfits, some aerosol Mr. Bubble bathtub foam for drawing, a giant pad of paper and washable triangular-shaped crayons, a bottle of Mr. Bubble bath solution, a package of big boy undies (with the characters from "Cars" on them), a bath scrubbie, and two large bags of Corn Puffs (his favorite snack - they're these, well, corn puffs, flavored like buttered popcorn, but without hulls. Lisa buys them for her son Preston, and Matthew got hooked on them during one of our trips down. They're basically like the puffy Cheetos, minus the cheese).
Other than Saturday and Monday, it's been a low-key week. I'm finally starting to get over this bug - I've got a bit of my voice back, and I can actually breathe through one side of my nose, which is a vast improvement. I've still got a nasty cough and sore throat, and I pulled a muscle in my side coughing, but it could be worse. I'm hoping I feel a lot better tomorrow - the living room's covered in toys and I need to do laundry, but I haven't had the energy to do anything while I've been sick.
Jeremy's making me homemade chicken noodle soup for dinner tonight - mmm. It's definitely soup weather right now - little chilly out today.
I think Jonah's starting to come down with the bug too - he's been whinier than usual today, and he's slept a lot. Then again, he woke up at 2:30 am last night and wouldn't go back to sleep till 6:30 am - which meant I was up till 6:30 am, although thankfully Jeremy let me sleep till 3 pm to make up for it - so he could just be tired, too. We'll see over the next couple days, I guess.
I've been talking to Betina a lot over Facebook chat lately, which is awesome. I've missed her, and now that she's sober, engaged, and a mama-to-be, it makes me feel even closer to her than I did before she checked into rehab. I am so proud of that girl, and I am proud to call her my friend. Betina, if you're reading this, way to go, mama. I can't wait to see you, and I love you, girl. Anyway, we just got the invitation to her and Mat's wedding in the mail today, so I need to fill out that RSVP form and drop it in the mail, even though I've already verbally replied to it.
Something funny there - June 26'th must be THE day to get married. That's the date of Betina and Mat's wedding, the date of my sister and Andrew's wedding, and I just found out the other day that Jeremy's aunt Ellen is also getting married that day. Wow.
I want to say Happy Third Anniversary to Phil and Polly Morris, up in Canada. Congratulations, you two. I love seeing all the lovey-dovey back and forth between you both on Facebook. It really makes me happy to see two adults that much in love, and that open about expressing it.
I think that's all I've got for now. The next entry is going to be three recipes - a mushroom soup recipe I promised to Jen Hutchinson a while back, my brownie recipe, and the buttercream modification I used for Matthew's birthday.
Much love to you all,
Megan
If you've never heard of TWLOHA before, I recommend checking it out. The acronym stands for "To Write Love On Her Arms." Today is TWLOHA Day. Before I go any farther, I have to say that this is not officially recognized by the TWLOHA organization. Someone on Facebook organized it to raise awareness, and it went viral. Official or not, I'm participating, just as I did in the last one. All you have to do to participate is write the word "love" on one of your arms, take a picture, make it your user pic on Facebook, and be ready to explain about the organization. Here's my arm today:
And here's my arm from last time:
/end PSA here.
Anyway, things have been more or less the same as usual around here. We celebrated Matthew's third birthday on Saturday with a small family get-together. The weather was nasty, of course - the only one of Matthew's days that have had nice weather was the day he was born (as far as I know - it looked nice outside). Ever since, it's either rained or snowed or both. Regardless, he still had a good day. Unfortunately, Jeremy's parents (known to my boys as Shamma, Pops, and Grandma Dee) weren't able to make it up, and neither was Little Al or Lisa. Shamma sent her gift for Matthew north with us after our Easter visit, though, and Pops and Dee will be coming up later and we'll re-celebrate then.
Thankfully, my mom and dad (aka Pawpaw and Meemaw), my sister Jeni, her fiance Andrew (Aunt Denny and Unca Cocoa) and my niece Jessica (Dessie), my brother Travis (Unca Hockey) and my brother Andrew (Unca Diddy) were all able to come. We kept it very low-key, just hung out, watched the kids play, talked with each other, had grilled hot dogs and my mom's potato salad for dinner, and did cake and presents immediately after.
A note about the cake. I had originally wanted to do a double layered chocolate cake with a picture of Donald Duck (one of Matthew's favorites, referred to as "Dah-Duck") on top. To this end, I modified my buttercream frosting recipe to make it easier to pipe, and Andrew's mom Mary was totally kick-ass and generously loaned me her unopened cake decorating kit and box of frosting tints. Things didn't quite work out though.
For starters, my cake layers were 9" rounds. I wouldn't have had much room to write "Happy Birthday Matthew" on there once I got Donald's head on. Then, Matthew was watching me mix the cakes. At his request, they were going to be chocowate. As he watched me measure out cocoa, he started demanding "Mo chocowate?" I added a little more. "Mo chocowate?" Okay, a little bit more. This kept up until finally, I looked at him and said, "Would you just like Mama to make you a big brownie for a cake?" His eyes lit up, and he said "Pwease? Chocowate? Mmm. I sick." (Which he was, he had a chest cold.) How could I resist? I scratched the recipe I was using and made two large 9" round brownies.
Now, my brownies are thick, fudgy, and super heavy. Buttercream is fluffy and slippery, due to the, you know, butter. This is where I decided to frost them separately and write happy birthday on one and do Donald on the other. This would also come in handy in case anyone had to leave before cake and present time - I could give them a piece to take with, while still leaving Donald intact for Matthew. (Good thinking on my part, as Trav had to leave before Matthew opened his gifts.)
The day of the party arrived. My brownies were cooled and I was ready to frost. I also woke up with a killer migraine left over from the day before and the back of my throat was scratchy (precursor to the bug I have now). Oh well. I'm a mom. Time to suck it up, fake like I'm feeling peachy, and decorate my boy's cake. Not gonna let the fact that I feel like crap spoil Matthew's big day.
Let it be said here that I am NOT an artist, with drawing, painting, etc. I can paint a picture with words, no problem. But when it comes to trying to recreate a picture on paper, canvas, whatever, I suck. Seriously. I can't draw a straight line with a ruler. Let it also be said that migraines tend to make my hands very unsteady.
Knowing my lack of drawing abilities, I'd asked Jeremy to print a few pictures of Donald for me. One was to be used for reference, and the other would be cut into pieces for use as tracing stencils. I think I could have pulled it off if my hands hadn't been so shaky. But on Saturday, it just wasn't happening. So, no Donald cake for Matthew. They both got covered with white buttercream, and I tinted some frosting to a very pretty blue shade and piped "Happy Birthday Matthew" onto one of them. He didn't seem to mind at all.
He got spoiled rotten with presents, too. Jeni, Jessie, and Andrew got him a giant package of Mega-Bloks, aka Duplo blocks, or whatever you want to call the oversized Legos. He loves them. Mom and Dad got him another package of Mega-Bloks and a really cook book of five different puzzles from the Pixar movie "Cars," which is one of his favorites. Matthew had asked "Unca Hockey" to give him "chocowate" for his birthday, and so Travis showed up with a 44-oz bag of plain M&M's. If you haven't seen a 44-oz package of M&M's before, it's freaking huge. Matthew's eyes lit up! Shamma got him this kick-ass Big Wheel tricycle. It's the Go, Diego, Go! themed one, with all sorts of noisemaking gadgets on the handlebars, a seat that adjusts to three different positions (so that it'll grow with him), and operational turn signals. We got him a toy bowling set (he'd played with a stuffed one at Pops and Dee's house and loved it, and he loves playing the bowling app on Jeremy's iPhone) and a Lightning McQueen Hot Wheels car. He's been playing with all his gifts more or less non-stop since Saturday evening. It was a good day.
His actual birthday was on Monday - he turned three at exactly 4:59 pm. His godmother, Jamie-girl, sent his gifts from her over that day. We didn't do anything real special - I let him run around naked all day, since that seems to be his favorite thing to do now, we let him pick out his own dinner (turkey and cheddar Lunchable, with plenty of M&M's for dessert), and he didn't get scolded. I let him play in the kitchen a little bit too, with plenty of supervision, of course. Jeremy had to work, and I went and babysat Lola and Devon so that Jamie-girl could go to her college course, like I do every Monday.
Jamie-girl got him some pretty cool stuff too - a couple outfits, some aerosol Mr. Bubble bathtub foam for drawing, a giant pad of paper and washable triangular-shaped crayons, a bottle of Mr. Bubble bath solution, a package of big boy undies (with the characters from "Cars" on them), a bath scrubbie, and two large bags of Corn Puffs (his favorite snack - they're these, well, corn puffs, flavored like buttered popcorn, but without hulls. Lisa buys them for her son Preston, and Matthew got hooked on them during one of our trips down. They're basically like the puffy Cheetos, minus the cheese).
Other than Saturday and Monday, it's been a low-key week. I'm finally starting to get over this bug - I've got a bit of my voice back, and I can actually breathe through one side of my nose, which is a vast improvement. I've still got a nasty cough and sore throat, and I pulled a muscle in my side coughing, but it could be worse. I'm hoping I feel a lot better tomorrow - the living room's covered in toys and I need to do laundry, but I haven't had the energy to do anything while I've been sick.
Jeremy's making me homemade chicken noodle soup for dinner tonight - mmm. It's definitely soup weather right now - little chilly out today.
I think Jonah's starting to come down with the bug too - he's been whinier than usual today, and he's slept a lot. Then again, he woke up at 2:30 am last night and wouldn't go back to sleep till 6:30 am - which meant I was up till 6:30 am, although thankfully Jeremy let me sleep till 3 pm to make up for it - so he could just be tired, too. We'll see over the next couple days, I guess.
I've been talking to Betina a lot over Facebook chat lately, which is awesome. I've missed her, and now that she's sober, engaged, and a mama-to-be, it makes me feel even closer to her than I did before she checked into rehab. I am so proud of that girl, and I am proud to call her my friend. Betina, if you're reading this, way to go, mama. I can't wait to see you, and I love you, girl. Anyway, we just got the invitation to her and Mat's wedding in the mail today, so I need to fill out that RSVP form and drop it in the mail, even though I've already verbally replied to it.
Something funny there - June 26'th must be THE day to get married. That's the date of Betina and Mat's wedding, the date of my sister and Andrew's wedding, and I just found out the other day that Jeremy's aunt Ellen is also getting married that day. Wow.
I want to say Happy Third Anniversary to Phil and Polly Morris, up in Canada. Congratulations, you two. I love seeing all the lovey-dovey back and forth between you both on Facebook. It really makes me happy to see two adults that much in love, and that open about expressing it.
I think that's all I've got for now. The next entry is going to be three recipes - a mushroom soup recipe I promised to Jen Hutchinson a while back, my brownie recipe, and the buttercream modification I used for Matthew's birthday.
Much love to you all,
Megan
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Megan and Poetry
I've been writing for as long as I can remember. My dad actually saved one of the first poems I ever composed, not too long after I learned how to read (which was freakishly early, lol - he started teaching me how when I was two. I could read at a college level by kindergarten. No kidding. I leaned over and read the teacher's worksheet manual to her, because I'd been looking at it over her shoulder and was irritated that she wasn't reading the instructions verbatim. Yeah, I was a bossy little kid like that.). It went: "I like the wind./It is pretty./It sings songs that only I can hear."
My writing hit its productivity peak between the ages of 14-23. I have a leather-covered notebook, that was given to me as a graduation/birthday gift from my boss at a restaurant I worked at way back when, that's full. I also have numerous other notebooks with poems, fragments of poems, and rewrites of older poems scattered throughout the boxes in my basement. I've struggled with clinical depression for a long time, and there is a direct connection between my depression and my writing - my output grows with my sadness, and declines with happiness. Thus, I haven't really written a lot since Matthew was born, other than letters to him and blogs on my old Myspace journal, which I've more or less abandoned.
Two of my favorite forms were unstructured blank verse and sonnets. Go figure. Two polar opposites. If that isn't a Gemini thing I'm not sure what would be, heh. At one point, I sought to impose a little more structure on my deliberately unstructured blank verse and started writing small self-descriptive verses I called "shorties." Between the age of 22 and 23, I wrote several of them.
The poems I'm posting here tonight are a few of my older ones from that time period, both short and long. There are three in total. I thought they were incredible at the time. The space and maturity of five years has lessened their glow somewhat, but there's still something in them that I approve of, hence their appearance here. Enjoy.
these poems are all my original work and have been copyrighted to me.
Me
written April 2004
Clear this smoke from my eyes
and let me see myself
in a cracked and forlorn mirror
wander through this deserted carnival
lost in my life
in the possibilities spread out before me
knock over two bottles and win, win, win a new soul
a new spirit
when all I want is another chance.
Decisions
written August 29, 2004
Maybe when this fog retreats I'll view myself
and realize that I'm not so bad
maybe my vision will crystallize
and I'll discover just where I'm headed
but these crossroads are confusing
and my precious seconds tick away
as my broken windshield wipers
slap in futility at the misty fingers clutching for my car
I watch my headlights knifing through
the dank and clammy blackness of confusion ever shrouding
this night, this road, my life
too many turns, it's never-ending
and I've never felt this disconnected
never felt so out-of-place
I wonder where I'll be in fifty years
wonder if I'll make it home
and will I remember each hard-fought lesson that I've learned?
through all these years of struggle
will everyone forget me?
am I doomed to be remembered solely for my actions?
or will there be one soul who pauses for a moment
and takes the time to look back fondly
and think kindly of this crooked smile?
On Relationships
written May 26, 2004 (following being dumped)
How do we move so quickly
from obsession to cold shoulders?
Your notes still haunt me
whispering their bitter lies from the depths of your disinterest
and the tears still cause the ink to run
across the callous page.
My writing hit its productivity peak between the ages of 14-23. I have a leather-covered notebook, that was given to me as a graduation/birthday gift from my boss at a restaurant I worked at way back when, that's full. I also have numerous other notebooks with poems, fragments of poems, and rewrites of older poems scattered throughout the boxes in my basement. I've struggled with clinical depression for a long time, and there is a direct connection between my depression and my writing - my output grows with my sadness, and declines with happiness. Thus, I haven't really written a lot since Matthew was born, other than letters to him and blogs on my old Myspace journal, which I've more or less abandoned.
Two of my favorite forms were unstructured blank verse and sonnets. Go figure. Two polar opposites. If that isn't a Gemini thing I'm not sure what would be, heh. At one point, I sought to impose a little more structure on my deliberately unstructured blank verse and started writing small self-descriptive verses I called "shorties." Between the age of 22 and 23, I wrote several of them.
The poems I'm posting here tonight are a few of my older ones from that time period, both short and long. There are three in total. I thought they were incredible at the time. The space and maturity of five years has lessened their glow somewhat, but there's still something in them that I approve of, hence their appearance here. Enjoy.
these poems are all my original work and have been copyrighted to me.
Me
written April 2004
Clear this smoke from my eyes
and let me see myself
in a cracked and forlorn mirror
wander through this deserted carnival
lost in my life
in the possibilities spread out before me
knock over two bottles and win, win, win a new soul
a new spirit
when all I want is another chance.
Decisions
written August 29, 2004
Maybe when this fog retreats I'll view myself
and realize that I'm not so bad
maybe my vision will crystallize
and I'll discover just where I'm headed
but these crossroads are confusing
and my precious seconds tick away
as my broken windshield wipers
slap in futility at the misty fingers clutching for my car
I watch my headlights knifing through
the dank and clammy blackness of confusion ever shrouding
this night, this road, my life
too many turns, it's never-ending
and I've never felt this disconnected
never felt so out-of-place
I wonder where I'll be in fifty years
wonder if I'll make it home
and will I remember each hard-fought lesson that I've learned?
through all these years of struggle
will everyone forget me?
am I doomed to be remembered solely for my actions?
or will there be one soul who pauses for a moment
and takes the time to look back fondly
and think kindly of this crooked smile?
On Relationships
written May 26, 2004 (following being dumped)
How do we move so quickly
from obsession to cold shoulders?
Your notes still haunt me
whispering their bitter lies from the depths of your disinterest
and the tears still cause the ink to run
across the callous page.
Monday, April 19, 2010
One More Matthew-Birthday Entry
I'd thought about doing a slideshow with these four pictures, but then I remembered: I'm not a fan of slideshows. I don't want to set a limit on the time each person views each picture. So I'm just posting these four. You can look at them as long as you want, or skip this entry entirely, it's your call.
Anyway, these four pictures are a year-by-year of my three year old WeeMan, Matthew Elliott. It amazes me how much his face has changed since he was born. See, I have more or less the same face as I was born with - it's a little more defined, and my nose is much more crooked due to repeated breaks, but all in all, it's easy to look at one of my baby pictures and know that it's mine. I'll post a couple of those around my birthday, just so you can see.
Well...without further yapping from me, here's the Matthew pictures.
Matthew, the newborn:
Matthew at one year old:
Matthew at two years old:
Matthew at three years old:
Anyway, these four pictures are a year-by-year of my three year old WeeMan, Matthew Elliott. It amazes me how much his face has changed since he was born. See, I have more or less the same face as I was born with - it's a little more defined, and my nose is much more crooked due to repeated breaks, but all in all, it's easy to look at one of my baby pictures and know that it's mine. I'll post a couple of those around my birthday, just so you can see.
Well...without further yapping from me, here's the Matthew pictures.
Matthew, the newborn:
Matthew at one year old:
Matthew at two years old:
Matthew at three years old:
Friday, April 16, 2010
Letter To Matthew, Before His Third Birthday
Dear Matthew,
Hi. Mom here. Whether you will ever read this or not is unknown to me at this point. If you do, I hope that you won't be too embarrassed, in case I come across as maudlin or overly emotional. But then, by the time you're old enough to read this, you'll understand that that's just how I am at times.
First, let me tell you that I love you. Hopefully you know this, and you'll never seriously question it. But I feel as though I can't say it enough.
You are such a blessing, to both your father and I. We were so surprised when we found out that you would be making your way into the world, the day after your dad's birthday. I sometimes wonder if that's why you've always been Daddy's boy - because you were his belated birthday present.
I knew from the beginning you'd be a boy. Don't ask me how, call it mother's intuition or a guess. Either way, I just knew. We had your name picked out at a very early point. Matthew, for a dear friend of mine, and Elliott, for your late uncle Chad.
From the moment you made that test show positive, your father and I have been determined to give you the best life possible. At times, that meant working more than one job. Believe me when I tell you that leaving you to go to work was one of the hardest and most emotionally wracking experiences of my life. The joy of watching your face light up when we were able to buy you new toys paled in comparison to the joy on your face when I came home. I spent the first five months of post-baby employment bawling behind the wheel as I drove to my job, each mile between us feeling like ten, each minute spent away from you an eternity. I can't count how many verbal warnings I got from understanding police officers for speeding on the way home, trying to get back to you sooner.
You grew, you crept, crawled, and learned to walk. Your speech was delayed, but your vocabulary seems to nearly double daily. Your personality is your own, so different from mine and your father's and your younger brother's, yet with a few similarities here and there. Like your dad, you seem to prefer going off and doing your own thing to playing with others; however, you do play very well with Jonah and with your cousins Jessie, Jadyn, and Tegyn. You get your stubborn independence from your father and I, and I hold myself (the one responsible for your Irish heritage) solely responsible for your temper. My son, I was the same way at your age.
Your intelligence also comes from us both. You never fail to astound us with the rapidity at which you learn new games, make new associations, develop new tastes and preferences, and make it clear with your limited vocabulary (so far) your wants and needs. You mastered your dad's iPhone games easily, and soon were sending me text messages while I was at work, most of which I've locked so that they cannot be accidentally deleted. You can read the letters of the alphabet, count to 10, and identify all the primary and secondary colors. You're potty-training at a rapid rate, and surprisingly, you've nearly mastered the step that takes most other kids the longest.
Your favorite movie at the moment is Pixar's "Cars." We watch it repeatedly, every day. It is the first movie where you've shown a connection to the characters - laughing at the funny parts, looking distressed at the worrisome ones.
You love getting into the kitchen and experimenting with whatever you find. How much food will fit in the cats' dish? Would the cats prefer to drink Mom's french vanilla coffeemate or water? Would they prefer Dad's Irish cream coffeemate to Mom's? Does cocoa powder taste like chocolate? (Oh, you were heartbroken and nauseated when you discovered that no, it does not.) What happens if you mix maseca (tortilla mix), raw scrambled eggs, and popping oil together? You've even shown an urge to make me happy in the morning in your kitchen expeditions. After all, you've watched me make coffee nearly every morning since we brought you home from the hospital, you know the steps quite well. I laughed so hard the morning I got up and saw that you'd placed the can of coffee, a single paper filter, and a cup of water on the floor of the popcorn maker, and that you were squatting in front of it, watching it intently, no doubt waiting for the coffee to brew.
You've already learned about manners, and use them quite nicely on most occasions. I took you to the grocery store about a month ago, and when that nice man let us cut ahead of him in line, you ever-so-sweetly said "Tanks!" with no prompting whatsoever. You also use "please" very well, with very little prompting.
Matthew, every time I look at you, I feel as though my heart really should have exploded by now, with pride and love.
It's true you frustrate me at times, with stubborn insistence (you see, I'm as stubborn as you are), with your tears of frustration when I won't let you do something that could possibly bring you illness or harm (like when you wanted to go play outside in a snowstorm wearing only a pull-up diaper). But, then, I wouldn't care if I didn't love you. It's because I love you that I do my very best to keep you safe and healthy.
You were such a good baby, and you were such a good toddler. When you turn three, you'll be a pre-schooler, and you will hopefully be starting Head Start in September, provided you're fully potty-trained. I look forward to this - new friends for you, more education, a new experience to broaden your world - and at the same time I dread it a bit, because it brings you that much closer to growing up and moving out.
My son, I look across the living room at you now, sitting quietly on the couch, playing bowling on your dad's phone, and I feel a bit choked up at how fast you're growing, and how fast the past three years have flown by. I see so much of your dad in you - your build, your complexion, your facial features, the shape of your eyes, and definitely your feet (those are beyond a doubt Gatica feet) - but there are bits of me there too - your hazel eyes, your red-brown hair, the shape of your smile and the dimple in your chin.
You are my eldest, my first-born son, the first visible, tangible proof of the love that your father and I shared then and share now. The first time I looked into your eyes was the first time I felt, beyond a doubt, that there is a greater love in the universe than what a person shares with their siblings, friends, or partners. I saw myself reflected in your newborn eyes, only it wasn't me as I knew myself. It was "MOTHER," it was love, and I had to fight not to cry at how I felt that, for the first time ever, life had a purpose other than the ones I'd grown used to in my 24 years of life. All the doubts I'd felt during my pregnancy with you - would I be a good mother, was I capable of raising a child, was I really going to be able to do this - slipped away. I cuddled you close and smiled at you, smiled at your dad, at the three of your grandparents (my mom and dad and your dad's mom) who were there in the room with us, and I knew beyond a doubt that I was going to be able to do this, that you were meant for your dad and I, and that no one would be able to love you the way we do.
Happy birthday, Matthew Elliott.
I love you, son.
Hi. Mom here. Whether you will ever read this or not is unknown to me at this point. If you do, I hope that you won't be too embarrassed, in case I come across as maudlin or overly emotional. But then, by the time you're old enough to read this, you'll understand that that's just how I am at times.
First, let me tell you that I love you. Hopefully you know this, and you'll never seriously question it. But I feel as though I can't say it enough.
You are such a blessing, to both your father and I. We were so surprised when we found out that you would be making your way into the world, the day after your dad's birthday. I sometimes wonder if that's why you've always been Daddy's boy - because you were his belated birthday present.
I knew from the beginning you'd be a boy. Don't ask me how, call it mother's intuition or a guess. Either way, I just knew. We had your name picked out at a very early point. Matthew, for a dear friend of mine, and Elliott, for your late uncle Chad.
From the moment you made that test show positive, your father and I have been determined to give you the best life possible. At times, that meant working more than one job. Believe me when I tell you that leaving you to go to work was one of the hardest and most emotionally wracking experiences of my life. The joy of watching your face light up when we were able to buy you new toys paled in comparison to the joy on your face when I came home. I spent the first five months of post-baby employment bawling behind the wheel as I drove to my job, each mile between us feeling like ten, each minute spent away from you an eternity. I can't count how many verbal warnings I got from understanding police officers for speeding on the way home, trying to get back to you sooner.
You grew, you crept, crawled, and learned to walk. Your speech was delayed, but your vocabulary seems to nearly double daily. Your personality is your own, so different from mine and your father's and your younger brother's, yet with a few similarities here and there. Like your dad, you seem to prefer going off and doing your own thing to playing with others; however, you do play very well with Jonah and with your cousins Jessie, Jadyn, and Tegyn. You get your stubborn independence from your father and I, and I hold myself (the one responsible for your Irish heritage) solely responsible for your temper. My son, I was the same way at your age.
Your intelligence also comes from us both. You never fail to astound us with the rapidity at which you learn new games, make new associations, develop new tastes and preferences, and make it clear with your limited vocabulary (so far) your wants and needs. You mastered your dad's iPhone games easily, and soon were sending me text messages while I was at work, most of which I've locked so that they cannot be accidentally deleted. You can read the letters of the alphabet, count to 10, and identify all the primary and secondary colors. You're potty-training at a rapid rate, and surprisingly, you've nearly mastered the step that takes most other kids the longest.
Your favorite movie at the moment is Pixar's "Cars." We watch it repeatedly, every day. It is the first movie where you've shown a connection to the characters - laughing at the funny parts, looking distressed at the worrisome ones.
You love getting into the kitchen and experimenting with whatever you find. How much food will fit in the cats' dish? Would the cats prefer to drink Mom's french vanilla coffeemate or water? Would they prefer Dad's Irish cream coffeemate to Mom's? Does cocoa powder taste like chocolate? (Oh, you were heartbroken and nauseated when you discovered that no, it does not.) What happens if you mix maseca (tortilla mix), raw scrambled eggs, and popping oil together? You've even shown an urge to make me happy in the morning in your kitchen expeditions. After all, you've watched me make coffee nearly every morning since we brought you home from the hospital, you know the steps quite well. I laughed so hard the morning I got up and saw that you'd placed the can of coffee, a single paper filter, and a cup of water on the floor of the popcorn maker, and that you were squatting in front of it, watching it intently, no doubt waiting for the coffee to brew.
You've already learned about manners, and use them quite nicely on most occasions. I took you to the grocery store about a month ago, and when that nice man let us cut ahead of him in line, you ever-so-sweetly said "Tanks!" with no prompting whatsoever. You also use "please" very well, with very little prompting.
Matthew, every time I look at you, I feel as though my heart really should have exploded by now, with pride and love.
It's true you frustrate me at times, with stubborn insistence (you see, I'm as stubborn as you are), with your tears of frustration when I won't let you do something that could possibly bring you illness or harm (like when you wanted to go play outside in a snowstorm wearing only a pull-up diaper). But, then, I wouldn't care if I didn't love you. It's because I love you that I do my very best to keep you safe and healthy.
You were such a good baby, and you were such a good toddler. When you turn three, you'll be a pre-schooler, and you will hopefully be starting Head Start in September, provided you're fully potty-trained. I look forward to this - new friends for you, more education, a new experience to broaden your world - and at the same time I dread it a bit, because it brings you that much closer to growing up and moving out.
My son, I look across the living room at you now, sitting quietly on the couch, playing bowling on your dad's phone, and I feel a bit choked up at how fast you're growing, and how fast the past three years have flown by. I see so much of your dad in you - your build, your complexion, your facial features, the shape of your eyes, and definitely your feet (those are beyond a doubt Gatica feet) - but there are bits of me there too - your hazel eyes, your red-brown hair, the shape of your smile and the dimple in your chin.
You are my eldest, my first-born son, the first visible, tangible proof of the love that your father and I shared then and share now. The first time I looked into your eyes was the first time I felt, beyond a doubt, that there is a greater love in the universe than what a person shares with their siblings, friends, or partners. I saw myself reflected in your newborn eyes, only it wasn't me as I knew myself. It was "MOTHER," it was love, and I had to fight not to cry at how I felt that, for the first time ever, life had a purpose other than the ones I'd grown used to in my 24 years of life. All the doubts I'd felt during my pregnancy with you - would I be a good mother, was I capable of raising a child, was I really going to be able to do this - slipped away. I cuddled you close and smiled at you, smiled at your dad, at the three of your grandparents (my mom and dad and your dad's mom) who were there in the room with us, and I knew beyond a doubt that I was going to be able to do this, that you were meant for your dad and I, and that no one would be able to love you the way we do.
Happy birthday, Matthew Elliott.
I love you, son.
The First Labor Story, or, How Matthew Elliott Entered Life Outside the Womb
Wednesday, April 18, 2007. I woke up around 10:30 am and couldn't fall back asleep. I'd been on maternity leave since March 23. I was huge, my co-workers were getting nervous seeing me work, and I still had fourteen days till I was due. I'd been into the hospital the previous Sunday with false labor. They sent me home and said to come back when my water broke, or when my contractions were five minutes apart. My bag was packed, the car seat was sitting in the back of the car, and I was ready. I was tired of lugging a 45 inch waist around with my five-foot-tall body. Everything we'd gotten at the baby shower was assembled, the clothes were unpacked and sorted into the dresser by size, the Diaper Genie was loaded. All we were missing was baby Matthew.
I followed my normal routine - make something to eat (that day, it was tater tots and a bagel with butter and grape jelly), check my email, watch Scrubs at 11:00 and 11:30, and take a nap. Jeremy had Thursday and Friday off that week. I had an appointment with Dr. Wilder, my obstetrician, on Thursday, and today, Wednesday, was payday. Payday meant Frosties from Wendy's, my latest pregnancy craving. I took a shower and cleaned the house. Having been in full nesting mode since week 31, this included washing the dishes, doing the laundry, sweeping and mopping the kitchen, scrubbing down the stove, straightening up the living room, running the vacuum, and scrubbing the toilet, sink, and bathtub. This wore me out enough to fall asleep for a little while.
When Jeremy got home, we watched Law and Order: SVU. I'd been having sporadic BH contractions, but wasn't really paying any attention to them. I'd also been leaking amniotic fluid since Sunday, but was unaware of that at the time, as it was a tiny leak. Around 6:30, we decided to go get some gas in the car and get Wendy's for dinner. (Surprise.) I started thinking about Frosties and Junior Bacon Cheeseburgers.
The gas gauge on my car reads funny, sometimes. It'll say that there's 1/8 of a tank when the tank is actually empty. It only does this one time out of every ten or fifteen. This happened to be one of those times. We were pulling up to the intersection of Clarion and Sheridan when the car started sputtering. We turned around to head home, and the car was acting normal again. We just shrugged, went home long enough to grab the gas can, then turned around and headed out. We turned right onto Sheridan, and the car died. We coasted to the bottom of the hill, parked it, left a note on the windshield, and got out. We were just standing there with the gas can, getting ready to walk the 1/4 mile to the gas station, when Jeremy's friend Dave happened to drive by. He was kind enough to stop and give us a ride to the gas station, then back to the car. His only condition was (while pointing at me) "Don't let your water break while you're in my car."
We got the gas into the car and headed to the gas station. Jeremy pumped while I went in to use the bathroom. We were on our way to get Frosties!!
Sitting at the stoplight, I could see the red, welcoming glow. All we had to do was cross the highway and drive a block. We were talking about nothing of importance when it happened. I felt a pop and I was instantly soaked.
Me: "Honey, I think my water just broke."
Jeremy:"What?"
Me: (as another gush hit) "Yep, it definitely broke."
Jeremy: "So, hospital?"
Me: (gunning the engine) "Um, yeah."
Since the hospital sits on the corner, rather than play ring-around-the-Chevrolet and have Jeremy get behind the wheel, I turned on my blinker, turned right onto the highway when the light changed to green, and drove the two blocks to the hospital. I pulled up to emergency, parked the car in a visitor's space, and proceeded to extricate myself. (For those of you who don't know, 1995 Cavaliers are small cars. Getting out of them can be a challenge for anyone, much less someone who's 38 weeks pregnant.) I was soaked and squishy, and the first real contraction hit as I was removing the keys from the ignition. Jeremy helped me inside. The lady at the admittance desk looked at my wet clothing, my huge belly, the looks on both of our faces, and said, "Are you here to be treated?" I told her my water had broken.
It was 7:30 pm. They popped me in a wheelchair and got me up to the maternity floor. I was bummed that my OB wasn't on call, but was loving the nurse who got me settled in until -
Me: "Can I have something to eat?"
Nurse: "Crackers, jello, and orange sherbet. And you can have juice or water."
Jeremy: "She's pretty hungry. We were on our way to Wendy's when her water broke."
Nurse: "You should have just gone through the drive-thru before you came here. You're only 2 cm dilated."
Me: "Grrrrr . . . You all told me to come right in if my water broke!"
Nurse: "I'll be right back with your crackers and sherbet . . . . apple juice, orange juice, grapefruit juice, or water?"
While I was hooked up to the monitor, Jeremy called my parents, who had a 45 minute drive, and his mom, who had a 4 hour drive (she made the trip in 2 1/2). When my mom, dad, and brother got there, the nurse had me get up and walk around the halls with them. I asked for some Tylenol, because it was starting to get painful, but they told me to walk instead. Then they told Jeremy to go get something to eat.
I walked and walked, and when I got back to my room, my wonderful boyfriend is sitting there eating the last bite of his double cheeseburger. I was tempted to throw something at him but restrained myself. So until his mom got there, I walked for 20 minutes, then rested for 5.
At 11:30 pm, the nurse came in and tried to give me an Ambien, telling me I needed to sleep. Since I've worked night shifts since I was 17, there was no way I was tired enough to sleep, plus I was too excited. So I refused it. Jeremy's mom got there with his brother, and we had a nice 2-family visit till 1:30 am, when the OB on call came in, checked me out, said it wasn't progressing too quickly, and kicked my dad, brother, and Jeremy's brother out. They then asked me if I wanted to try sitting in the jacuzzi for a while. I took a shower with Mom's help, told Jeremy he should take a nap, and then got in the jacuzzi. The contractions were quite painful by this point, but I managed to sleep for 45 minutes. This went on all night.
At 7:30 am, the OB came in to say he was going off and mine was coming on call, and not to worry, I'd have a baby by noon.
At noon, my OB came in and gave me an IV and Pitocin. And after I asked him for Tylenol or Midol or anything to make it hurt less, he gave me a muscle relaxer and 12.5 mg of morphine. That wore off at 3 pm, but I managed to sleep a little more between contractions. At that point, I was fully effaced, but only dilated 90%. I kept telling them that Matthew was stuck in there, so Dr. Wilder used his fingers to move the rest of my cervix out of the way.
At 3:30 pm, I grabbed Jeremy and begged him to never let me do this again. He swore he wouldn't. My mom looked at me and told me "You know how I feel about only children, Megan." I'm sure I would have popped off with something, but another contraction hit. The bar that they'd put up for me to grab was ineffective, as my hands were too small and sweaty for me to grasp it properly.
At 4 pm, I still was in hard labor, and my baby's head kept coming down, then going back up. I was begging for an epidural, saddle block, c-section, anything. Jeremy tells me I ran down an alphabetical list of every painkiller known to modern science. I was too far along for them to give me anything. Apparently, my dad was out in the hallway, grabbing every nurse he could, and repeating everything I was saying.
At 4:59 pm, April 19, 2007, after 22 hours of labor, 19 of them drug-free, finally, Matthew Elliott Gatica made his way into the world. Jeremy got to cut the cord, and after my 9 stitches, the Apgars, and the bath, I finally got my 18.75 inch long, 5 lb 15.9 oz reward:
this was then
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Introduction, Part One
I'm never sure what to write about myself, so here are a few notes from Facebook.
The Urban Dictionary Note:
Go to urbandictionary.com and type in your answer to each question in the search box, then write the FIRST definition it gives you...then tag 10 of your friends so they can do it, too.
And I promise these are all real, copy and pasted. Have fun!
A) Your name?
Megan:
A girl that is very stubborn but at the same time can be the greatest friend on the planet. She loves pizza and is absolutley gorgeous. She is loved by everybody and is fucking hilarious!
B) Your age?
27
the age all rockstars die at:
jimi hendrix
jim morrison
janis joplin
kurt cobain
alexander the great
james dean
river phoenix
brad nowell (lead singer to sublime) died at the age of 28 years and 2 days (2 days from joining the club)
C) One of your friends:
Melissa
A very beautiful person inside and out.
Will always make you laugh and give you a hug before you even know you need one!
Can be some what blunt. But at least you know she is truthful. Very sweet and easy to talk to. Loves the colour pink and loves her family more than anything else!
High morals. She sets her own ground.
D) What should you be doing:
sleeping
something you never get enough of once you hit the age of 15.
E) Favorite Color:
dark green
1. The color dark green.
2. Something of or pertaining to awesomeness.
G) Month of Your Birthday:
June
The month the hottest people in the world are born
H) Last Person You Texted: (okay, it's the fourth definistion, but it's the best one)
Jeremy
4 buckets of pure awesome rolled up into a tasty bite sized homunculus. Looks good in drag. When he opens his mouth, pure clever spews out and penetrates all those who dare oppose him. He is the master of the universe.
Other names: Angryman, Flamenco Moronco, Priscilla Antoinette, Harold, Germathon, Spice Rack, Waffle Time.
I) Favorite sport:
rugby
game that only real men play, not like those pussy football players. No pads, rougher tackles, alot more fun.
The Twenty-Five Random Facts
Once you've been tagged, you are supposed to write a note with 25 random things, facts, habits, or goals about you. At the end, choose 25 people to be tagged. You have to tag the person who tagged you.
1. I drink a lot of coffee.
2. Matthew and Jonah are the lights of my life.
3. I'm the pickiest eater you'll ever meet.
4. I'd rather live in a little house I've worked for than have a palace given to me.
5. My feet haven't grown since I was 9.
6. I've been the same height since I was 14.
7. Cooking and baking are my stress releases.
8. I'm a hardcore night owl.
9. I'm a coffee snob. Seriously. If they had a java version of what a sommelier does, I'd call that my dream job.
10. I have more male friends than female.
11. I love Silverchair, Clutch, The Dissociatives, Something Corporate, and Fall Out Boy.
12. I dyed my hair bright flaming red. Now that there are other people who want to dye it to match mine, I'm planning on changing the color again.
13. My toenails are bright purple.
14. I'd rather wear glasses than contacts.
15. I play all those games on Facebook that drive you nuts.
16. In the summer, I live in tanktops and flipflops, but I rarely wear shorts. My legs refuse to tan, and I don't like the way they're shaped. They're rather thickly muscled, and while I'm thankful that they're strong, they just don't look very feminine.
17. I'm definitely an overprotective mother.
18. I could quite happily live on loaded baked potato soup, fresh French bread, and the triple-meat Totino's party pizzas.
19. I firmly believe that "family need not be blood."
20. I have three tattoos, with plans for at least three more.
21. I have 16 piercings with plans for no more.
22. I worked in restaurants for 10 years before quitting. Now I work part-time at Ill-Lusions and I love it.
23. I have three little planters on my bedroom windowsill. I'm growing basil, parsley, and chives. They're in the bedroom to keep them safe from the cats and the kids.
24. I love to read. My favorite authors are JD Salinger, John Steinbeck, Dorothy Parker, and Anthony Bourdain.
25. I smoke Camel Menthols, and I am an unrepentant smoker.
The Mommy Survey
Here you go Mommies- a different kind of survey for a change- it's all about your first born. Just copy and paste it in a new note for yourself.
1. WAS YOUR PREGNANCY PLANNED?
Matthew: no, it was a surprise
Jonah: an even bigger surprise
2. WERE YOU MARRIED AT THE TIME?
no, don't believe in it
3. WHAT WERE YOUR REACTIONS?
Matthew: scared and excited
Jonah: a little more scared than excited
4. WAS ABORTION AN OPTION FOR YOU?
never even crossed my mind
5. HOW OLD WERE YOU WHEN YOU GOT PREGNANT?
Matthew: 24
Jonah: pregnant at 25, delivered at 26
6. HOW DID YOU FIND OUT YOU WERE PREGNANT?
Matthew: my boobs hurt and I was cramping, took the test the day after Jeremy's 34'th birthday
Jonah: 10 days late. Tested at 2 am on Christmas morning
7. WHO DID YOU TELL FIRST?
Matthew: Mom, because she was there
Jonah: I made Jeremy tell me what the stick said
8. DID YOU WANT TO FIND OUT THE SEX?
yes, for both kids
9. WHAT WAS YOUR DUE DATE?
Matthew: May 1, 2007
Jonah: August 25, 2008. Then I found out they were about 2 weeks off - Jonah's due date should have been August 5 - and Jonah was overdue.
10. DID YOU HAVE MORNING SICKNESS?
Matthew: all-day sickness till I was 4 months
Jonah: nope
11. DID YOU HAVE CRAVINGS?
Matthew: cheese sticks, pineapple, cream cheese wontons, beef jerky, milk
Jonah: pineapple, strawberries, black cherries
12. WHAT IRRITATED YOU?
whining
13. DID YOU WISH FOR THE OPPOSITE SEX?
Matthew: no
Jonah: I thought for sure he was a girl, so I was startled when the U/S showed that he was CLEARLY a boy, but all in all, I was pretty happy that he was a boy by the time I got home from the doctor's office
14. HOW MANY POUNDS DID YOU GAIN?
Matthew: 46
Jonah: 20
15. DID YOU HAVE A BABY SHOWER?
for Matthew. Didn't need one for Jonah
16. WAS IT A SUPRISE?
nope. It was in Flint, so we had to request time off from work for it.
17. WERE THERE ANY COMPLICATIONS WITH THE PREGNANCY?
none at all. Dr. Wilder referred to both my pregnancies as "boringly normal."
18. WHERE DID YOU GIVE BIRTH?
Northern Michigan Regional Hospital
19. HOW MANY HOURS WERE YOU IN LABOR?
Matthew: 22
Jonah: 15
20.WHO DROVE YOU TO THE HOSPITAL?
Matthew: drove myself - my water broke at a stoplight
Jonah: Jeremy drove
21. WHO WATCHED THE BIRTH?
Matthew: Mom, Jeremy, Sherry, Dr. Wilder
Jonah: Jeremy, Dr. Wilcox, the anesthesiologist
22. WAS YOUR BIRTH NATURAL OR C-SECTION?
Matthew: natural
Jonah: c-section due to cephalopelvic disportion (his head was too big for him to drop properly) and failure to progress - never dilated past 7 cm, despite being stretched twice
23. DID YOU USE MEDICATION FOR PAIN?
delivered naturally with Matthew
Jonah - I got the epidural. It wasn't really an option not to.
24. HOW MUCH DID YOUR BABY WEIGH?
Matthew: 5 lbs 15.9 oz
Jonah: 7 lbs 5 oz
25. WHEN WAS YOUR BABY BORN?
Matthew: April 19, 2007, at 4:59 pm
Jonah: August 22, 2008, at 8:00 pm on the dot
26. WHAT IS BABY'S NAME?
Matthew Elliott Gatica
Jonah Lee Gatica
Last one: The 100 Truths
WHAT WAS YOUR:
1. last beverage= fountain pop (Coke)
2. last phone call= Bill
3. last text message= Jeni
4. last song you listened to= "Horror With Eyeballs," by the Dissociatives
5. last time you cried= yesterday
HAVE YOU EVER:
6. dated someone twice= yes
7. been cheated on= yes
8. kissed someone & regretted it= yes
9. lost someone special= yes
10. been depressed= yes
11. been drunk and threw up= yes
LIST THREE FAVORITE COLORS:
12. green
13. blue
14. silver
THIS YEAR HAVE YOU: (2010)
15. Made a new friend= yes
16. Fallen out of love= no
17. Laughed until you cried= yes
18. Met someone who changed you= no
19. Found out who your true friends were= yes
20. Found out someone was talking about you= yes
21. Kissed anyone on your friend’s list= yes
22. How many people on your friends list do you know in real life= a good portion of them
23. How many kids do you want to have= I'm good with two
24. Do you have any pets= two cats
25. Do you want to change your name= nope, I'm used to it
26. What did you do for your last birthday= Jeremy and I went to see "Angels and Demons" and hit the bar
27. What time did you wake up today= 3 pm (!!!) but I had gotten about 3 hours of sleep the night before, drove home from Flint, and helped Bill out at the shop. Plus I couldn't stay asleep last night, kept waking up every forty-five minutes till around 9 am.
28. What were you doing at midnight last night= playing Farmville
29. Name something you CANNOT wait for= business to pick up at the shop so I can get my raise
30. Last time you saw your Mother= a few weeks ago
31. What is one thing you wish you could change about your life?= more sleep, more money
32. What are you listening to right now = my laptop's motor humming
33. Have you ever talked to a person named Tom= yes
34. What’s getting on your nerves right now= not much
37. Nicknames= Megs, Mames, Keebler, Little Mama
38. Relationship Status= committed
39. Zodiac sign= Gemini
40. Male or female?= female
41. Elementary?= (oh boy, lol) Cross Village, Harbor Light, Shay Elementary
42. Middle School= Harbor Springs, Concord
43. High school/College=Concord, Rudyard, Petoskey, Traverse Bay Area ISD Adult Education
44. Hair colour= Wildfire by Manic Panic
45. Long or short hair= short
46. Height= 5'0”
47. Do you have a crush on someone?= Jeremy
48. What do you like about yourself?= hair, eyes, cooking skills, pain tolerance, fast learner, intelligent
49. Piercings= seven holes in each ear, one in nose, one in navel
50. Tattoos= three
51. Righty or lefty= righty
FIRSTS :
52. First surgery=stitches
53. First piercing= 11
54. First best friend= Tashina Hemenway
55. First sport you joined= track
56. First vacation= Michigan
58. First pair of trainers= I don't remember
RIGHT NOW
59. Eating= nothing
60. Drinking= fountain pop Coke
61. I’m about to= have a smoke and hit the sack
62. Listening to= quiet. So rare. Which is why I'm not in bed yet.
63. Waiting for= "my real life to begin." Sorry, Colin Hay junkie here, and you left it wide open
YOUR FUTURE :
64. Want kids?= have kids. Don't want any more.
65. Get Married?= hell no
66. Career?= I don't know yet. Thinking about going into couples' counseling
WHICH IS BETTER :
67. Lips or eyes= eyes
68. Hugs or kisses= hug
69. Shorter or taller= taller
70. Older or Younger= older
71. Romantic or spontaneous= spontaneous
72. Nice stomach or nice arms= arms
73. Sensitive or loud= sensitive
74. Hook-up or relationship= relationship
75. Trouble maker or hesitant= trouble maker
HAVE YOU EVER :
76. Kissed a stranger= no
77. Drank hard liquor= yes
78. Lost glasses/contacts= no
80. Broken someone’s heart= yes
81. Had your own heart broken= yes
82. Been arrested= yes
83. Kissed same sex= yes
84. Cried when someone died= yes
85. Fallen for a friend?= yes
DO YOU BELIEVE IN:
86. Yourself= most of the time
87. Miracles= yes
88. Love at first sight= yes
89. Heaven= yes
90. Santa Claus= what he stands for, yes
91. Kiss on the first date= depends on various factors. Is this a complete stranger? Have you known them for a while? How close were you before the date? Did you have onions for dinner? (just kidding)
92. Angels= yes
ANSWER TRUTHFULLY:
94. Had more than 1 girlfriend/boyfriend at a time=no
95. Did you sing today?= yes
96. Ever cheated on somebody?= no
97. If you could go back in time, how far would you go?=the summer I turned 24, just to relive it again, because it was so wonderful
98. If you could pick a day from last year and relive it, what would it be?= from 2009? I don't know. There were quite a few good ones.
99. Are you afraid of falling in love?=nope, I'm already there
100. Posting this as 100 truths?= nah, retitled it
The Urban Dictionary Note:
Go to urbandictionary.com and type in your answer to each question in the search box, then write the FIRST definition it gives you...then tag 10 of your friends so they can do it, too.
And I promise these are all real, copy and pasted. Have fun!
A) Your name?
Megan:
A girl that is very stubborn but at the same time can be the greatest friend on the planet. She loves pizza and is absolutley gorgeous. She is loved by everybody and is fucking hilarious!
B) Your age?
27
the age all rockstars die at:
jimi hendrix
jim morrison
janis joplin
kurt cobain
alexander the great
james dean
river phoenix
brad nowell (lead singer to sublime) died at the age of 28 years and 2 days (2 days from joining the club)
C) One of your friends:
Melissa
A very beautiful person inside and out.
Will always make you laugh and give you a hug before you even know you need one!
Can be some what blunt. But at least you know she is truthful. Very sweet and easy to talk to. Loves the colour pink and loves her family more than anything else!
High morals. She sets her own ground.
D) What should you be doing:
sleeping
something you never get enough of once you hit the age of 15.
E) Favorite Color:
dark green
1. The color dark green.
2. Something of or pertaining to awesomeness.
G) Month of Your Birthday:
June
The month the hottest people in the world are born
H) Last Person You Texted: (okay, it's the fourth definistion, but it's the best one)
Jeremy
4 buckets of pure awesome rolled up into a tasty bite sized homunculus. Looks good in drag. When he opens his mouth, pure clever spews out and penetrates all those who dare oppose him. He is the master of the universe.
Other names: Angryman, Flamenco Moronco, Priscilla Antoinette, Harold, Germathon, Spice Rack, Waffle Time.
I) Favorite sport:
rugby
game that only real men play, not like those pussy football players. No pads, rougher tackles, alot more fun.
The Twenty-Five Random Facts
Once you've been tagged, you are supposed to write a note with 25 random things, facts, habits, or goals about you. At the end, choose 25 people to be tagged. You have to tag the person who tagged you.
1. I drink a lot of coffee.
2. Matthew and Jonah are the lights of my life.
3. I'm the pickiest eater you'll ever meet.
4. I'd rather live in a little house I've worked for than have a palace given to me.
5. My feet haven't grown since I was 9.
6. I've been the same height since I was 14.
7. Cooking and baking are my stress releases.
8. I'm a hardcore night owl.
9. I'm a coffee snob. Seriously. If they had a java version of what a sommelier does, I'd call that my dream job.
10. I have more male friends than female.
11. I love Silverchair, Clutch, The Dissociatives, Something Corporate, and Fall Out Boy.
12. I dyed my hair bright flaming red. Now that there are other people who want to dye it to match mine, I'm planning on changing the color again.
13. My toenails are bright purple.
14. I'd rather wear glasses than contacts.
15. I play all those games on Facebook that drive you nuts.
16. In the summer, I live in tanktops and flipflops, but I rarely wear shorts. My legs refuse to tan, and I don't like the way they're shaped. They're rather thickly muscled, and while I'm thankful that they're strong, they just don't look very feminine.
17. I'm definitely an overprotective mother.
18. I could quite happily live on loaded baked potato soup, fresh French bread, and the triple-meat Totino's party pizzas.
19. I firmly believe that "family need not be blood."
20. I have three tattoos, with plans for at least three more.
21. I have 16 piercings with plans for no more.
22. I worked in restaurants for 10 years before quitting. Now I work part-time at Ill-Lusions and I love it.
23. I have three little planters on my bedroom windowsill. I'm growing basil, parsley, and chives. They're in the bedroom to keep them safe from the cats and the kids.
24. I love to read. My favorite authors are JD Salinger, John Steinbeck, Dorothy Parker, and Anthony Bourdain.
25. I smoke Camel Menthols, and I am an unrepentant smoker.
The Mommy Survey
Here you go Mommies- a different kind of survey for a change- it's all about your first born. Just copy and paste it in a new note for yourself.
1. WAS YOUR PREGNANCY PLANNED?
Matthew: no, it was a surprise
Jonah: an even bigger surprise
2. WERE YOU MARRIED AT THE TIME?
no, don't believe in it
3. WHAT WERE YOUR REACTIONS?
Matthew: scared and excited
Jonah: a little more scared than excited
4. WAS ABORTION AN OPTION FOR YOU?
never even crossed my mind
5. HOW OLD WERE YOU WHEN YOU GOT PREGNANT?
Matthew: 24
Jonah: pregnant at 25, delivered at 26
6. HOW DID YOU FIND OUT YOU WERE PREGNANT?
Matthew: my boobs hurt and I was cramping, took the test the day after Jeremy's 34'th birthday
Jonah: 10 days late. Tested at 2 am on Christmas morning
7. WHO DID YOU TELL FIRST?
Matthew: Mom, because she was there
Jonah: I made Jeremy tell me what the stick said
8. DID YOU WANT TO FIND OUT THE SEX?
yes, for both kids
9. WHAT WAS YOUR DUE DATE?
Matthew: May 1, 2007
Jonah: August 25, 2008. Then I found out they were about 2 weeks off - Jonah's due date should have been August 5 - and Jonah was overdue.
10. DID YOU HAVE MORNING SICKNESS?
Matthew: all-day sickness till I was 4 months
Jonah: nope
11. DID YOU HAVE CRAVINGS?
Matthew: cheese sticks, pineapple, cream cheese wontons, beef jerky, milk
Jonah: pineapple, strawberries, black cherries
12. WHAT IRRITATED YOU?
whining
13. DID YOU WISH FOR THE OPPOSITE SEX?
Matthew: no
Jonah: I thought for sure he was a girl, so I was startled when the U/S showed that he was CLEARLY a boy, but all in all, I was pretty happy that he was a boy by the time I got home from the doctor's office
14. HOW MANY POUNDS DID YOU GAIN?
Matthew: 46
Jonah: 20
15. DID YOU HAVE A BABY SHOWER?
for Matthew. Didn't need one for Jonah
16. WAS IT A SUPRISE?
nope. It was in Flint, so we had to request time off from work for it.
17. WERE THERE ANY COMPLICATIONS WITH THE PREGNANCY?
none at all. Dr. Wilder referred to both my pregnancies as "boringly normal."
18. WHERE DID YOU GIVE BIRTH?
Northern Michigan Regional Hospital
19. HOW MANY HOURS WERE YOU IN LABOR?
Matthew: 22
Jonah: 15
20.WHO DROVE YOU TO THE HOSPITAL?
Matthew: drove myself - my water broke at a stoplight
Jonah: Jeremy drove
21. WHO WATCHED THE BIRTH?
Matthew: Mom, Jeremy, Sherry, Dr. Wilder
Jonah: Jeremy, Dr. Wilcox, the anesthesiologist
22. WAS YOUR BIRTH NATURAL OR C-SECTION?
Matthew: natural
Jonah: c-section due to cephalopelvic disportion (his head was too big for him to drop properly) and failure to progress - never dilated past 7 cm, despite being stretched twice
23. DID YOU USE MEDICATION FOR PAIN?
delivered naturally with Matthew
Jonah - I got the epidural. It wasn't really an option not to.
24. HOW MUCH DID YOUR BABY WEIGH?
Matthew: 5 lbs 15.9 oz
Jonah: 7 lbs 5 oz
25. WHEN WAS YOUR BABY BORN?
Matthew: April 19, 2007, at 4:59 pm
Jonah: August 22, 2008, at 8:00 pm on the dot
26. WHAT IS BABY'S NAME?
Matthew Elliott Gatica
Jonah Lee Gatica
Last one: The 100 Truths
WHAT WAS YOUR:
1. last beverage= fountain pop (Coke)
2. last phone call= Bill
3. last text message= Jeni
4. last song you listened to= "Horror With Eyeballs," by the Dissociatives
5. last time you cried= yesterday
HAVE YOU EVER:
6. dated someone twice= yes
7. been cheated on= yes
8. kissed someone & regretted it= yes
9. lost someone special= yes
10. been depressed= yes
11. been drunk and threw up= yes
LIST THREE FAVORITE COLORS:
12. green
13. blue
14. silver
THIS YEAR HAVE YOU: (2010)
15. Made a new friend= yes
16. Fallen out of love= no
17. Laughed until you cried= yes
18. Met someone who changed you= no
19. Found out who your true friends were= yes
20. Found out someone was talking about you= yes
21. Kissed anyone on your friend’s list= yes
22. How many people on your friends list do you know in real life= a good portion of them
23. How many kids do you want to have= I'm good with two
24. Do you have any pets= two cats
25. Do you want to change your name= nope, I'm used to it
26. What did you do for your last birthday= Jeremy and I went to see "Angels and Demons" and hit the bar
27. What time did you wake up today= 3 pm (!!!) but I had gotten about 3 hours of sleep the night before, drove home from Flint, and helped Bill out at the shop. Plus I couldn't stay asleep last night, kept waking up every forty-five minutes till around 9 am.
28. What were you doing at midnight last night= playing Farmville
29. Name something you CANNOT wait for= business to pick up at the shop so I can get my raise
30. Last time you saw your Mother= a few weeks ago
31. What is one thing you wish you could change about your life?= more sleep, more money
32. What are you listening to right now = my laptop's motor humming
33. Have you ever talked to a person named Tom= yes
34. What’s getting on your nerves right now= not much
37. Nicknames= Megs, Mames, Keebler, Little Mama
38. Relationship Status= committed
39. Zodiac sign= Gemini
40. Male or female?= female
41. Elementary?= (oh boy, lol) Cross Village, Harbor Light, Shay Elementary
42. Middle School= Harbor Springs, Concord
43. High school/College=Concord, Rudyard, Petoskey, Traverse Bay Area ISD Adult Education
44. Hair colour= Wildfire by Manic Panic
45. Long or short hair= short
46. Height= 5'0”
47. Do you have a crush on someone?= Jeremy
48. What do you like about yourself?= hair, eyes, cooking skills, pain tolerance, fast learner, intelligent
49. Piercings= seven holes in each ear, one in nose, one in navel
50. Tattoos= three
51. Righty or lefty= righty
FIRSTS :
52. First surgery=stitches
53. First piercing= 11
54. First best friend= Tashina Hemenway
55. First sport you joined= track
56. First vacation= Michigan
58. First pair of trainers= I don't remember
RIGHT NOW
59. Eating= nothing
60. Drinking= fountain pop Coke
61. I’m about to= have a smoke and hit the sack
62. Listening to= quiet. So rare. Which is why I'm not in bed yet.
63. Waiting for= "my real life to begin." Sorry, Colin Hay junkie here, and you left it wide open
YOUR FUTURE :
64. Want kids?= have kids. Don't want any more.
65. Get Married?= hell no
66. Career?= I don't know yet. Thinking about going into couples' counseling
WHICH IS BETTER :
67. Lips or eyes= eyes
68. Hugs or kisses= hug
69. Shorter or taller= taller
70. Older or Younger= older
71. Romantic or spontaneous= spontaneous
72. Nice stomach or nice arms= arms
73. Sensitive or loud= sensitive
74. Hook-up or relationship= relationship
75. Trouble maker or hesitant= trouble maker
HAVE YOU EVER :
76. Kissed a stranger= no
77. Drank hard liquor= yes
78. Lost glasses/contacts= no
80. Broken someone’s heart= yes
81. Had your own heart broken= yes
82. Been arrested= yes
83. Kissed same sex= yes
84. Cried when someone died= yes
85. Fallen for a friend?= yes
DO YOU BELIEVE IN:
86. Yourself= most of the time
87. Miracles= yes
88. Love at first sight= yes
89. Heaven= yes
90. Santa Claus= what he stands for, yes
91. Kiss on the first date= depends on various factors. Is this a complete stranger? Have you known them for a while? How close were you before the date? Did you have onions for dinner? (just kidding)
92. Angels= yes
ANSWER TRUTHFULLY:
94. Had more than 1 girlfriend/boyfriend at a time=no
95. Did you sing today?= yes
96. Ever cheated on somebody?= no
97. If you could go back in time, how far would you go?=the summer I turned 24, just to relive it again, because it was so wonderful
98. If you could pick a day from last year and relive it, what would it be?= from 2009? I don't know. There were quite a few good ones.
99. Are you afraid of falling in love?=nope, I'm already there
100. Posting this as 100 truths?= nah, retitled it
Let's Kick Things Off
Let's just kick things off with a recipe. It's one of my favorites.
I'm a huge fan of salty meat, starch, garlic, and cheese. This recipe for bacon-parmesan risotto covers all four of those. It's my favorite comfort food, gut-buster food, fun to make if you are in the mood to cook, and quite honestly, delicious. I first tried risotto while working at City Park Grill, and I fell in love. Since then, I've come up with a few variations on the standard version with Arborio rice - the stuff's expensive! - and made mock versions with regular long grain rice, and even a "faux-sotto" using milk in place of some of the chicken stock and instant rice instead of Arborio. Yes, I know there are culinary giants out there who would smack me silly for using instant rice, but hey. Innovation is a good thing, and besides, Jeremy hates al dente rice. So there you go. Anyway, this is the basic recipe.
Parmesan and Applewood Bacon Risotto:
12 oz applewood bacon, cut into lardons
5 cups chicken stock
1 1/2 cups arborio rice
1 clove garlic, thinly sliced (I use a razor blade. Goodfellas-style)
salt and fresh black pepper
1/2 cup grated parmesan
Brown bacon lardons in high sided heavy skillet over medium heat.
Remove with slotted spoon, reserving fat in pan. Add garlic and rice
and cook, stirring frequently, until garlic is translucent and rice
grains are all coated in fat.
Meanwhile, bring stock in saucepot up to a boil, then reduce to a
simmer. Reduce heat under rice to medium low.
Add stock, 1/2 cup at a time, to rice and garlic. Stir until liquid is
completely absorbed into rice before adding the next batch.
When you add the last ladle of stock, fold in bacon lardons and
parmesan cheese. Stir and cook till it's all combined. Serve
immediately.
I'm a huge fan of salty meat, starch, garlic, and cheese. This recipe for bacon-parmesan risotto covers all four of those. It's my favorite comfort food, gut-buster food, fun to make if you are in the mood to cook, and quite honestly, delicious. I first tried risotto while working at City Park Grill, and I fell in love. Since then, I've come up with a few variations on the standard version with Arborio rice - the stuff's expensive! - and made mock versions with regular long grain rice, and even a "faux-sotto" using milk in place of some of the chicken stock and instant rice instead of Arborio. Yes, I know there are culinary giants out there who would smack me silly for using instant rice, but hey. Innovation is a good thing, and besides, Jeremy hates al dente rice. So there you go. Anyway, this is the basic recipe.
Parmesan and Applewood Bacon Risotto:
12 oz applewood bacon, cut into lardons
5 cups chicken stock
1 1/2 cups arborio rice
1 clove garlic, thinly sliced (I use a razor blade. Goodfellas-style)
salt and fresh black pepper
1/2 cup grated parmesan
Brown bacon lardons in high sided heavy skillet over medium heat.
Remove with slotted spoon, reserving fat in pan. Add garlic and rice
and cook, stirring frequently, until garlic is translucent and rice
grains are all coated in fat.
Meanwhile, bring stock in saucepot up to a boil, then reduce to a
simmer. Reduce heat under rice to medium low.
Add stock, 1/2 cup at a time, to rice and garlic. Stir until liquid is
completely absorbed into rice before adding the next batch.
When you add the last ladle of stock, fold in bacon lardons and
parmesan cheese. Stir and cook till it's all combined. Serve
immediately.
First Entry
Welcome.
You probably found me here from Facebook. Leave me a comment here and let me know how you're doing!
I'll get around to an introduction entry later. For now, I'm just saying hi, and using this first entry to describe what the purpose of this blog is.
I have five major passions. They are cooking, crafty-stuff (loom knitting, embroidery, etc), reading and writing poetry and short stories, my family, and my friends. These passions are the focus of my blog here. So as I keep adding entries, you the reader can expect to find an eclectic mix of recipes (some with photos of the finished products), pictures of my craft projects, updates on my two children, including the letters that I write to them at random, stories from my home life, and from my job, and other random stuff that I happen to find interesting.
So thanks for stopping by! Bear with me if the updates aren't super regular - my life has a tendency to get hectic at times. I have two toddlers who are high-energy and very intelligent, so I'm sure you can sympathize if I just don't have time to post an entry.
One favor, please! If you happen to spot a recipe on here that you really like, leave a comment with your name and let me know how it appealed to you, and any variations you used. Thanks!
much love,
Megan
You probably found me here from Facebook. Leave me a comment here and let me know how you're doing!
I'll get around to an introduction entry later. For now, I'm just saying hi, and using this first entry to describe what the purpose of this blog is.
I have five major passions. They are cooking, crafty-stuff (loom knitting, embroidery, etc), reading and writing poetry and short stories, my family, and my friends. These passions are the focus of my blog here. So as I keep adding entries, you the reader can expect to find an eclectic mix of recipes (some with photos of the finished products), pictures of my craft projects, updates on my two children, including the letters that I write to them at random, stories from my home life, and from my job, and other random stuff that I happen to find interesting.
So thanks for stopping by! Bear with me if the updates aren't super regular - my life has a tendency to get hectic at times. I have two toddlers who are high-energy and very intelligent, so I'm sure you can sympathize if I just don't have time to post an entry.
One favor, please! If you happen to spot a recipe on here that you really like, leave a comment with your name and let me know how it appealed to you, and any variations you used. Thanks!
much love,
Megan
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