New Blog!!

Hey there,
Tom and I decided we would have a joint blog now that we are married. We will be using this site to post blog entries and to put up pictures. If you would like to get the login info for the pictures, please email me at meghanmcfarlin@gmail.com.
Love,
Meghan

Pictures from our wedding!

Tom and I had a WONDERFUL wedding and honeymoon, and now we are back in Georgia. He's working at careerbuilder again, and I'm working on our apartment. But I just wanted to put a couple of links in for some pictures that Chrissy (Christine Hall), our photographer, took during our wedding day. Here are a few of the kids that she took as well. =)
Love,
Meghan

Less than 100 hours! WOOOHOOO

Mr. Tommy keeps sending me and Tom countdown updates for the wedding. OH MY GOODNESS it's so close! YAY! YAAAYYYY!!! I'm getting the bridesmaids presents and the readers/greeters presents together with Harry Potter on in the background. Imelda Staunton is just too good as Dolores Umbridge. I can't stand her. haha YAY the wedding is getting closer. I still can't eat dairy, and my allergies are pretty bad, but I'm feeling much better than I was. And I'm praying for good weather on Saturday. And running tons of errands tomorrow, just as I did today and the day before. And Kristen comes in tomorrow night! YAY! And ...whew, I'm tired. Back to work.
~Meghan

uuuuuuuuuughhh

It is NOT FUN to get sick, especially when you have a big, most-important-day-of-your-life-to-date event coming up, but somehow, Mom and I have both managed to get some kind of bug that has us under house arrest. Or bathroom/bucket arrest since you never know when food is going to try to escape your body. Enough said. Gotta go. I can feel it coming on again.
~Meghan

I spoke too soon

I always seem to be eating my words when I post about things getting better or slowing down on my blog. Not two days after my last post, I pretty much had a meltdown. I had a lot of stuff I wanted to do in Alpharetta, but I ended up having to do a TON of stuff in Covington/Conyers instead, so I never got to Alpharetta until that evening about 10 minutes before Tom got home from work. Also, some of the wedding work I had been doing in Covington ended up going down the tubes, and we had somewhere to be in two hours, so I had basically no time to do what I had come to Alpharetta to do. And there's more, but I won't go into it. It was VERY frustrating to say the least, and Tom was being really sweet and listening to me vent while we carried in some stuff from my car. As I bent to set it down (still talking and looking to my left at Tom), I smacked the bone above my eyeball on the corner of our glass dining room table. That was the straw that broke the camel's back for me.

I lost it. Just sat down and burst into tears. My eye region REALLY hurt, and I was pretty much convinced I was going to get an ugly bruise from it and it would ruin our wedding pictures. I get bruises all the time, and it still hurts to make any expression with my eyes on the right side of my face, so that's a valid fear, but I've been praying to be wrong. I don't want it to finally blossom out all purple and brown two days before the wedding, as sometimes it takes my bruises a week to show up. Anyway, Tom finally got me to feel like things couldn't get worse, so they had to get better, and we had a good night at Robert Lee's junior recital and eating afterwards with Daniel and Jessica.

Then I had to drive back. I got to bed around 3AM, and I got up (overslept, to be honest) and went to my last Precept Bible Study at church since I'm moving after the wedding and can't go next week. Then I did some wedding stuff at home, and then I babysat from 5-10.

Tomorrow, I have to check in on rehearsal dinner and wedding rsvps, have a tanning bed appointment at 9:15 am, then I have the 7-day meeting to attend with mom at the reception site. Then she and I are headed over to the florists to talk with her about the cake and other stuff. Then it's back to Covington, where I need to pack and get gas in my car, renew stuff at the library, fax the church rules on pictures to the photographer, and meet Tom to get our marriage license. Which we probably shouldn't have waited until now to do, but it's hard being long distance and doing all this stuff before 4:30. Which reminds me that I need to get cash so that we can pay for the license.

After that, we will be heading out to Augusta to see my niece in her first ballet recital, with a little party afterwards. Saturday, it's back to Covington to try out the Lancome people for bridal make up.

WHEW. I'm tired just thinking about it. I don't really know why anyone would want to read all I'm doing...it's more of a documentation of it so I can look back and remember....this was the week before I got married. hahaha

Bed time.

~M

The light at the end of the tunnel....

I'm feeling pretty good because it seems like the list is FINALLY starting to get smaller for planning the wedding. I've emailed everyone in the wedding party about most things and will be fielding answers up to the wedding day, but I would rather be asked than have someone be confused, so that's no big deal. Mom and I have gotten the program typed up and will be going tomorrow to get that settled at the printers. I need to go to Michael's for some stuff for the wedding day. I have to drop off my veil and jewelry to Christy Lassiter so it's with my dress. I need to type up the church rules and email it to my photographer. I need to mail a cd to our band. I need to get my engagement ring fixed up at the Shane Co. Etc, etc, but these things just seem so small and few compared to how much other stuff we've had going on, and it just feels good to know that I will be married, whether or not any of these plans work out, in less than two weeks! =) And I'm really excited to get to see a bunch of my friends and family that I haven't seen lately (and those that I have) when they all start coming into town! =) YAY!
Love,
Meghan

Sooo........Tired.......

It's been nonstop wedding work this entire week and will continue to be this way until the wedding, I'm sure. I'm convinced because the list of things to do never ends. Something always crops up, and I have more to do. Last night I couldn't sleep because it was all on my mind. Now I am tired as all get out but need to stay up to work on some stuff. I don't know if I'll finish it all tonight. SO tired.
~M

Stormy Weather and a Wedding

Well, Atlanta got it's first tornado in about 50 years on Friday night, and it was pretty bad. It is said that it killed at least 3 people and injured several, but it could have been worse. It did destroy some homes and buildings as well as the roofs and exteriors of several buildings, like the Georgia Dome (during the SEC Basketball championship, which UGA ended up winning) and several of the glass windows of The Westin. The Omni was evacuated, and several people fled to the CNN Center for cover. The St. Patrick's Day Parade was cancelled. It was a mess all over downtown, and they were cleaning it up all weekend.

The storm blew out to Covington, where it rained cats and dogs and threw hail bigger than golf balls down. Our yard was torn up pretty badly, and my car and dads are both dinged and dented. My car has a cracked windshield and a hole where the windshield wipers are as well. The insurance guy is coming out tomorrow to look at it all. You can see pictures that dad took of the hail everywhere and that I took when I got home here.

The reason I wasn't home is that I went with the McFarlins to Charleston, S.C. for a wedding this weekend. While we were there, we got to see Claire Peters, which was really fun. The storm headed up from Georgia to find us in Charleston by Saturday night. We ended up taking a taxi home to avoid being drowned in the rain, but by Sunday morning, it was beautiful and sunny again in both states. When we headed out to leave, we got stuck on a 10-mile stretch of road for 2 hours on I-26 because a tornado had touched down out there the night before, snapping pine trees or uprooting them and strewing them all over the road. They were cleaning them up, and it slowed everyone down. It took us about 7 hours to get home (to Ben's house, since he drove) because of it. You can see some pictures of our trip to Charleston here.

The wedding definitely made me think about the fact that ours was 3 weeks from Saturday, and I about had a panic attack when we all stood up to watch the bride come down the aisle. Knowing how clumsy I am and how emotional that day will be for me, I'm more nervous than I can explain to have those doors open wide and have all those people stand up to look at me. It's a good thing I have my dad to lean on for support! I'd probably pass out or throw up or just get flustered and trip...which might happen anyway, but like I said, Dad will be there to catch me. =) Anyway, once I could breathe again, I felt a little more calm and could enjoy Bo and Tapley's wedding, which was very nice.

I'm so ready to be married! =)

Love,
Meghan

Today

Today was VERY BUSY, but I wanted to update on what happened.

First of all, I had my final gown fitting, and it went well. My dress fits and it's not too long, which is what she mainly had to adjust. She even had to make the petite crinoline she owned that goes under the dress shorter because it was dragging the ground on me. THAT is how short I am. haha I tried it on with my hair done up, and my veil and jewelry on, so that was fun. We took pictures, but obviously I can't post them.

Then we went to Loganville (we=Me and Mom) to meet with Rob and the two Holy Cross Anglican Church wedding coordinators at the church. Basically, after that last phone call and then talking to Rob, we decided this was the best thing to do. It went A LOT better than I think it would have gone without all the prayer that we have put into it and others have put into it. God blessed our meeting. We all got along well, and I think it's going to be a beautiful ceremony. I feel a lot better about it now. We are pretty much just going along with their new rules, but they did explain a lot more, which is what I wanted in the first place. And we are going to be able to use Tyler and Madeline even though she won't be five, since we are going to have them walk up the aisle then sit right down with their cousin Rachel, who is my age.

After that, we came home, and I made the list for the bridesmaids luncheon with everyone's addresses and sent that to a couple of my aunts, who are throwing it with a couple more of my aunts. I'm really looking forward to the 3rd, 4th, and 5th days of April. By then I can relax and have fun. I am going to get my nails done, get lingerie, hang out with girlfriends, get to go to two meals hosted in my honor or in honor of me and Tom, and get married and get to go to a party (or reception, but ya know...it's a party) for us too! YAY! So fun. Then I get to go on VACATION! TO JAMAICA! WITH MY HUSBAND! YAY YAY YAY! Yes, April is definitely what I am looking forward to right now. And we get to have fabulous photos taken on the 4th and 5th by Christine Hall, who is just the best photographer in the world. Everyone I have spoken to (and I have spoken to everyone) at her studio is just AWESOME and so nice. I am pumped. =)

Alright, I'm feeling much better. The contract for the band is supposed to arrive tomorrow. Good stuff.

Love,
M

March Madness

This has nothing to do with sports...more to do with me and my state of mind. haha The closer the wedding gets the more my brain wants to dissolve into mush with all there is to do.

A week after that phone call from the band I called the church to inquire about Tom and I figuring out where everyone in the wedding party would stand so that we could have that all sorted out by the time the rehearsal came around. The lady on the other end of the line...I don't know if I caught her on a bad day or if she doesn't like that I'm not a member of their church, but she was MEAN to me. Seriously, I got off the phone and cried because I was so surprised at being treated the way she was towards me. I had to make Tom promise not to call and talk to her because she was so nasty to me.

But everyone has pointed out to me that I keep running into obstacles while planning the wedding because I'm in a bible study on James, and Satan wants to see if I've learned anything or am going to not count it all joy when encountering various trials. I'm determined to not give in and to continue giving God the glory, so it's been a constant source of prayer for me, Mom, Tom, and my bible study members. I'd be lying though if I didn't tell you this: I am ready to be done planning, to be married, and to go to Jamaica! =) I keep telling myself that if I can just get through this, I get to go to the beach with Tom as his wife. That's the light at the end of the tunnel.

As for the band, we've pretty much switched. The contract should arrive this week for the new band, and Will from Pseudo is going to pay the difference because his bandmates refuse to pay it but insist on playing for the sorority. I feel bad for him and respect him paying it all, but I also need the money because we budgeted only a certain amount for the band and shouldn't have to pay more because of a mistake they made. So anyway, instead of pseudo, we are planning to have The Tony Howard Show play. They sound AWESOME, and I'm really excited to have them.

I've also been going to the tanning bed, or (as Ben calls it) the fake'n'bake, because I am as white as my dress, and I need to have a little color to look better. Also, I'd like to have a little bit of a base tan for the honeymoon so I don't burn as easily when I'm on the beach. YAY I can't wait to go the beach. I hope and pray it's beautiful weather for the wedding day/night since it's a 6PM wedding with pictures beforehand and that it's beautiful weather for the honeymoon! =)

I got my wedding day jewelry last week with mom as well as most of the bridesmaids presents. I am still waiting on part of their presents to come in. My final dress fitting is this week on Wednesday at 1pm, and my hair and makeup trial run is next week on Wednesday. I'm so excited to have all this done, because when I put on the dress and it fits me (read:doesn't drag the ground since I'm not tall), and when I try out my hair and jewelry, it just feels like the wedding is close. Actually, it feels like I'm 5 and playing dress up with Esther again, only this time I get to be the bride. =) But it's really fun and exciting.

Ok, well I have tons of thank you notes to write for people at my church, Tom's church, and for some of our college friends! We've really been blessed with showers, and it's been so fun to get to have an excuse to catch up with people we haven't seen in a while. =)

~M

It's too late to ditch me!

I thought being six weeks away from the wedding was stressful. But I was in for an unpleasant surprise. Being six weeks away from the wedding and getting a call from your band telling you that they accidentally double booked your wedding night and want to break the contract with you is much MORE stressful.

Tom and I went to a date night for Gamma Phi Beta on Feb 23, 2007, at which we heard Psuedo (also sometimes playing as Parrothead Paradise), a band that can play a wide variety of music. Everyone had a great time, they played a variety of music, they are talented, and we loved it. So we booked them by June. Since then I've been going through their song lists to pick the best songs, sending them burned cds with the songs we need them to know, emailing back and forth, etc. It's been fine; I've been in touch with Will, a band member, and he's a nice guy who has been really helpful. He felt awful calling and telling me that. Not nearly as bad as it felt to me to hear it, but still, pretty bad.

Apparently their band leader wrote down 5-04 instead of 4-05 for our wedding night and thought they were free that night. So their talent agency, Crescent Moon Talent, booked them for that night with a repeat customer two months ago. When I asked who this customer was that they were given preferential treatment, I found out it was a sorority. A Sorority.

Now I have nothing against sororities as I was in one for the last four years, but I think that gives me license to say that to them, this is just another party, formal, or datenight. But for me and Tom, this is our wedding. We will remember this and how good our musicians were. To let them out of the contract, we are going to have to have another band that is just as good or better. There are few bands I have heard at Crescent Moon I am willing to switch for, and of them only one is available for that night, and that's if something they have in the works doesn't happen. And then, they are $700 more than what Psuedo was. We shouldn't have to pay $700 more just to be happy with our band when we already had one booked, so basically what I've told Chip, who works at cmtalent and has been trying to do damage control, is that someone other than us (read: Psuedo or CMTalent) is going to have to absorb the difference. Either that or Psuedo will have to honor their contract to us.

I just don't know what else to do. I mean the wedding is 6 weeks away, and I should NOT have to deal with this right now. I don't want them to be playing for our wedding all angry and disgruntled, but we booked them first and shouldn't even have to feel worried about that. Tom was pretty upset too, though his reaction was more to get angry when I told him, whereas I burst into tears when Will called me. Ahhh guys and girls. His opinion on the whole thing is that they should have just called the sorority, apologized, canceled, and we should never have been any the wiser. Of course, that didn't happen, so we are trying to regroup and go from there.

I also had to make calls about it because other friends have booked Psuedo for their wedding based on my recommendation, and I want to make sure that this doesn't happen to them. I would hate for anyone else to deal with this stress. I just am glad we have a contract.

Please pray that this will work out for the best and that our wedding reception will have a good band that everyone enjoys!

~Meghan

I literally don't know what I'm doing.

Ok, well maybe that should be in past tense and a little more specific. I literally didn't know what my body was doing. Last night, I woke up in the middle of the night in horrible pain. My upper abs were completely clenched, kind of the way if you curl your toes really tightly they get stuck that way because the muscle cramps up and sticks and it really hurts. My abs were doing that. And it was SEVERELY painful. I was dreaming about how much it hurt then woke up from the pain. It was basically so bad I thought I would throw up. After about 5-10 minutes of this, my muscles just kind of relaxed and I was able to lay back down. Today I was talking to dad about it (I'm still sore), and we figured out that it was due to working on chairs.

Saturday afternoon, Tom and I were hanging out at my house trying to strip the paint off of some old chairs we bought at a good price but need to repaint. It took a lot more time and work than I expected. And the paint stipper was so strong that it dissolved the plastic container I had poured it into, it melted the laytex gloves I was wearing, and it burned my skin when I came into contact with it. Yeah. And even with that stuff on the chairs, we couldn't get all the paint off the thing. I was scraping it forever, and somehow being bent over a chair and working that physically hard did something to my muscles that caused my body to freak out in the middle of sleep. Not cool. We have 5 more chairs to go.

Other than that, this weekend was very busy and very wedding based. I attended a bridal brunch/ladies' shower that was thrown for me at the Whitworth's house and hosted by some ladies in my church: Kara Sugg, Kathy and Natalie Whitworth, Cheryl Kurz, Margaret Mitchell, and Beth Milikin. Most of these women have known me since I was a little girl or since early high school, and four of them are also in my bible study at church. It was such a nice shower, and it was great to see so many ladies from church and Tom's family and people I had grown up knowing from the area. Everyone there seemed to enjoy getting the chance to get to catch up and also to meet Tom's mom, grandmother, aunt, and great-aunt. =)

After the shower, Tom and I had our 3rd Pre-marital counseling session with Rob (which takes about 2 hours each time), and then we went to my house to work on the chair. Then we went to Tom's house to eat with his family.

Today, after church and lunch, Mom, Tom, Mrs. Patti, Mr. Tommy, and I all went to The Vines for a Bridal Showcase. There were a bunch of vendors there, but mainly we wanted to go to taste the different foods provided by Chef Eric, who caters for them and so that Mr. Tommy could see the place for the first time. I am praying it won't rain or be cold on our wedding day. It would be great if everyone could enjoy being outside for dancing, eating, and seeing the gardens.

After that, Tom headed back to Alpharetta, and the rest of us went by the church. We showed Mr. Tommy the sanctuary and counted up where extra chairs could be added. We would be able to add enough chairs to have about 365 seated if we add on 4 more rows, which is good since we have such big families that our guest list is limited as it is and we are already going to be stuffing people in that church. Hopefully that will work out.

Alright, I'm tired and have typed myself into another day. I need to get into bed.
Love,
Meghan

Tricky T lives up to his name.

Hahaha, ok, for those of you who don't know what I'm referring to, a bunch of guys at Piedmont had made up silly "rap" nicknames in our freshman year. We called Tom "Tricky T" and it kind of stuck and got brought up again over the years. Well....last year for Valentines Day, we had decided not to do anything. So I got him a card. And then when I got to Atlanta, he made me a steak dinner, gave me a gorgeous double-stranded pearl bracelet, and took me to Cafe Intermezzo for dessert. Ummm....yeah, I didn't expect that.

Again this year, I said "Let's not do anything for Valentines Day." This time around I'm thinking he surely won't say "ok" and then do more than a card AGAIN. But he did. The doorbell rang this afternoon, and when I went to get the door, only a box from ProFlowers was there. To my (genuine) surprise, it was to me, and when I opened it the note said (please don't be embarrassed Tom, I loved it), "Roses are red, and these are for you, in a month and a half, I'll be married to you! I love you! -Tom." How sweet is that?? I melted. And then I counted out a dozen beautiful red roses and saw a cute little box of chocolates too! =)

Now, to be honest, I was trying to be tricky this year. I have a plan for his present but it won't be delivered to the apt till next week. He knows already since I confessed when I got the flowers, but I didn't tell him what the present will be, so I am not posting it here (at least till later).

That's all!
Happy Valentines Day (or as some of my friends say: Happy Singles Awareness Day)~
Meghan

HA.

"Tomorrow should be nice," I said. RIGHT. Well that's what I thought. And then I was miserable all night and day with nausea. Apparently Levaquin, the very strong antibiotic I was on for my throat being stupid, is interacting with my birth control in a way that is making me feel like a pregnant woman in her first trimester. I've had bad experiences with Levaquin before, but it was not when I was on birth control. Back then, I was on Spring Break with Mom and Kristen on a cruise. It caused me to react horribly in the sun-my skin was painful and itchy all over my body. I spent half the cruise in the room under a towel, slathered in aloe. Cruises were not made for avoiding the sun. And Levaquin is not my friend. Neither is Cefzil, another antibiotic. These just affect me badly when I try to come off of taking them, and I'm not the only person I know who has experienced this.

I didn't leave the house today, but tomorrow, I have an appointment with our organist for the wedding in the morning, so I am praying to be better by then-no upset stomach or nausea making me gag and grossed out. I also rescheduled my hair cut, so hopefully I won't have to cancel again.

I really really really want to be better.
~Meghan

Negative on the Vocal Chords.

Tom and I had our first big wedding shower on Saturday night-it was at the Little's house and hosted by them, the St. Clairs, and the Parks. We had a great turn-out, WAY more than I expected, actually. It was great to have all those people there, I just wish I could have gotten to talk to more of them and to have talked more to the ones I did get to speak with. We were truly showered with gifts, and I was overwhelmed with gratitude for everyone coming and blessing us with so much beautiful stuff. We really are starting from nothing and building it all up, so we are registered for everything under the sun, it seems, and we were very blessed by all we received.

I woke up at 4:30 Saturday morning because I wasn't able to breathe hardly at all. I basically was in the middle of croup and an asthma attack, which has happened about twice before, and I can tell you, it is NO fun at all. I would rather have this than the flu or something where my whole body is messed up, but not being able to breathe...it's just scary. The first time that happened to me, I was in high school and it was before they knew I had asthma. I was completely panicked. The next time it wasn't as severe, but this time it was bad. I couldn't find my inhaler, which was stupid on my part for not keeping up with it. I stumbled through my closet, pretty dizzily, and searched through old purses until I found one. I puffed it twice then went and used a nasal spray in the bathroom. This did basically nothing, so I turned on the hot water as hot as I could and closed myself in the bathroom. Sometimes steam helps. After 40 minutes of this, I realized it wasn't helping me do much more than sweat. So then I decided to wake up Dad.

When I got to Mom and Dad's room, I woke Dad up and tried to tell him what was wrong, but could barely speak and my throat was so raw I could barely be understood. After he realized what was going on, he listened to my lungs and said they weren't really blocked, but then he listened to my throat and said air was having a hard time getting through. I think I took about 6 pills he gave me plus advair, then we both went to the basement. I had to sleep on the couch sitting up, and he wanted to sleep in the same room as me to make sure I didn't quit breathing. (We didn't want to wake up mom.) In the morning, after my alarm had gone off upstairs for 15 minutes, mom turned it off and wondered where I was. She found us downstairs and left us to sleep while she went to get ready for church. I woke up again around 12. Right now I sound like I have laryngitis.

I haven't left home since all this happened, just staying here to recover, but it's annoying because I can't talk hardly at all, and when I do, people have a very hard time understanding me or any inflection in my voice, especially over the phone. Tom is better at it than most people because (poor thing) he has probably spent what amounts to weeks of his life hearing me yak on the phone. But even he has had trouble with it, and we've narrowly escaped arguments yesterday and today caused by him thinking I was getting mad or saying something I wasn't saying due to my voice being messed up. Not his fault, but it's frustrating for both of us that I am so hard to understand.

Tomorrow should be nice though. I have another gown fitting at ten, followed by mom and I getting haircuts (I am SO happy about that) and then hopefully picking up my car. It's been in the shop since Thursday getting repairs. What a nice gift from mom and dad-I could NOT afford to get my car fixed up on my own money, and it needs a LOT of work-a new headlight (not the bulb, the actual plastic light fixture was TAPED onto my car-how embarrassing), new brakes, new tires, new hoses and belts, a tune-up, etc. My car needed some TLC.

That's all for now. Everything I can't say out-loud, typed here to update you. =)
~Megs

In Augusta

Just thought I would put in a quick update. Mom and I are in Augusta. We headed up after bible study ended and we had lunch/packed. It is so fun (and so tiring) to babysit all three, so I understand why mom wanted to tag team them! haha

We have a "fun day" planned for tomorrow. Fun for them, anyway, haha. Basically, we are going to get up early (for me, not for them), have breakfast, get ready, let them watch cartoons while WE get ready, and then we are going to Monkey Joes to let them jump all their energy out. After that, we will eat out for lunch, and then it's back here for the girls' naptimes and Tyler's activities/nintendo time. Once the girls are down, I'll be leaving everyone with mom while I go to the store. I have to pick up some food and some cookie dough and sprinkles. When I get back, we will make sugar cookies with the dinosaur cookie cutters that we brought, and then they will all get to play outside until dinner time. Then they get the cookies, and then it's bath-time, followed by a movie, followed by bedtime. Now tell me that doesn't sound like a fun day to little kids? Of course, Maddie just keeps talking about going to 6 Flags. lol Lisa says she talks about it all the time.

Alrighty I better get to bed soon if I want to not be totally dead halfway through the day tomorrow!

Love,
Meghan

ps-Tom and I have our first shower on Saturday night, and I am SO excited about it!!! =)

Entertainment Center

Yay, our entertainment center is FINALLY in our apartment. After months of searching, we have a great entertainment center at a great price. And it's now in our apartment, allowing Tom and I to feel like our living room looks more grown up and home-like. =) I'm very happy with that.

I went up there today to be there when Billy and Justin (from Storefront) picked it up and brought it by for us (thanks a million for them). They even hauled our old one back to Covington. While I was there, I did laundry, did dishes, cleaned the living room, swept and mopped, and cleaned the bathroom. I also polished the entertainment center and got stuff on a few of the shelves. And I made a little calla lily arrangement for the nook near the entrance to the apt and put together a pear and apple arrangement for a dining room table centerpiece. It looks kind of silly without chairs or a tablecloth (it's a glass table), but I still like the centerpiece. I also visited with Tom. Then I drove home, and now I'm here and TIRED!

My next home improvement project is to strip, prime, and paint our dining room chairs, as well as to pad and re-cover the seats of them. I have everything but the foam and the time. And good weather. Every day that it's nice outside where I could strip the chairs, I am not around to do it. I am really excited to see how they come out. I'm a little nervous because I have an idea in my head of what I would like them to turn out to be, and I feel worried that I won't reach that goal. We'll see.

This week, I will be babysitting in Covington on Wed night, then heading to Augusta with Mom to babysit Tyler, Maddie, and Anna Kate Thurs-Sat morning. I am sure we will be really tired when we leave Augusta, but I am pretty excited to spend time with them. I haven't seen them really since Christmas time. It's Lisa's birthday on the 10th, and she and Jonathan are taking a well-earned trip to Hilton Head.

Okay, I am way too tired to type anymore. Goodnight!
~Meghan

Battle of the Buldge!

I've been trying to slim down some for the wedding...and just for me in general, since I want to get back to a weight I am happy with. On December 31st I started doing Weight Watchers, and it's pretty great. It was annoying at first to get into the routine of it, but it really really makes you aware of exactly what you are putting in your body. You start looking at things you have loved eating and start thinking...that's a lot of fat. haha Sometimes it's still annoying, but I'm sticking to it, and I try to exercise, though I admit I am not consistent the way I should be. I'm not actually a part of the weight watchers class or going to a gym. I just know the general guidelines from when mom joined, and I follow them the best I can. Despite that, so far I've lost 7 lbs! I'm pretty excited about that. Hopefully I can keep that off and lose some more. I really want to slim down and tone my body. My biggest thing I want to lose before the wedding is from the waist up. I would LOVE to lose everywhere, but my arms and waist & back and face are going to be the most obvious body parts on the wedding day. The bottom half of me I've been trying to slim down for ages, so I know it will take a while for it.

Tonight is Ben's 21st bday party, however, so I am giving myself a night off. I will be good today, but come tonight, I am going to let myself have cake, chips, cookies, and a few drinks. I mean, if you can't ever enjoy food...seriously, life just isn't the same. So tonight I indulge. Tomorrow, I start being good again. =)

~Meghan

It's been a while...

...over a month actually. I mean, wow. I talked to Alejandra the other day, and she has shamed me into updating, haha.

Basically, Christmas was great. New Years Eve was a lot of fun. And the rest of the new year has been proof that weddings consume a lot of your time. I've been planning the wedding nonstop and preparing for it by doing premarital counseling with Tom and my preacher, going to bridal gown fittings, and now, getting ready to meet with the church wedding coordinator, the florist, and figure out stuff for our cake. I also have to get my jewelry and the bridesmaids' jewelry for the day of the wedding, and I need to do a million other things.

We've also been trying to bargain hunt for furniture for our apartment. Craigslist.com has been great for that, but it means that you have to drive out to wherever the person is located and pickup the furniture. We were able to get great deals on a coffee table, 6 dining room chairs, and an entertainment center though, so that's pretty exciting. The coffee table is in the apt already, and the entertainment center will be by next week! YAY! We got some help paying for the entertainment center, so we only had to pay about a 3rd of the cost, since I talked him down to a doable price, and we also got help with our washer and dryer, so we are seeing the place start to come together! haha I don't know how we would have gotten all we needed without that help, and we're really grateful. It's hard on us that I don't have an income besides babysitting right now, but I am trusting that God has a job in Alpharetta for me since His answer to my prayers for one in Covington seemed to be "no." Tom is working so hard, and I want to relieve some of the pressure for finances.

This week I need to work on chairs for the dining room. I'll have to post before and after pictures, because right now they are looking a bit on the rough side. The ad I found for them said they used to belong to a diner that had been around forever in the Alpharetta area and is now closed. So they need a fresh coat of paint, some cushioning in the seat and new fabric. I'm hoping to get that all done by Sunday so they can be in the apartment, and hopefully I can go up and get the entertainment center and chairs set up for me and Tom on Monday. =)

So, you see, this is my life right now. What fabric should I get? What flowers should I use? What jewelry goes with my dress? What appointment should I be at? And on and on and on. I'm really excited about getting it all planned, but I'm REALLY excited about the wedding and the trip to Jamaica afterwards. A Jamaican vacation is JUST what we both need. =) And it'll be all that much nicer to go on a trip as Mr. and Mrs. McFarlin. 65 days and counting...

~Meghan