"He's a really great guy. I like him."

"He's a really great guy. I like him," is exactly what the home inspector said to me yesterday while Mark had stepped out of our future home to wait for the water meter repair man. My reply, "who? Mark?" Not that I didn't already know Mark is a great guy, but it just seemed like an odd, somewhat random comment for our very vivacious, very talkative home inspector to say. "Yes, him. God gave me the gift to recognize good people and Mark is good people." The only thing I could say was "thank you, I agree!"

As we take yet another step closer to being first time home owners, I become more and more impressed with my fiance. I always knew he was smart, put together, and hysterical, but I never knew just how good he was at making overwhelming situations seem manageable. Home buying is a very complicated process, at least to me, and requires constant attention. Mark is on top of things - he takes the constant requests from the realtor, he is able to translate what all the home buying lingo means to me, and he is great at seeing the big picture when it comes to renovations. I truly can't express how thankful I am to have him. The inspector was right, Mark is a great guy.

Taking My Own Advice

I have told parents countless times over the years, both in parent-teacher conferences and in progress testing meetings, that their child's test results are only a snapshot of one day in their child's life. The results will not determine if their child will be the next president of a company or even if they will go to college, they are simply numbers that show what the child knew that day, in those few hours. After throwing myself a pity party for most of yesterday, I finally thought about what advice I give people and decided to take my own advice.

I hired a personal trainer three months ago with the intention of having her help me look great in my wedding dress. I have seen progress and now actually have muscles in my arms and legs that I have not had in years! When I began this endeavor, the trainer took "before" measurements. Yesterday was the day she wanted to see what progress I had made. I was very excited for I was sure the numbers would reveal what I was seeing and feeling -- the opposite happened. Not only did the weight on the scale increase (supposedly muscle weighs more than fat, but whatever), but my measurements had not changed. I was really upset. I expected to see drastic changes!

So after feeling sorry for myself for eight hours, I decided to stop feeling this way. I told myself those numbers represent one day in my life. I will not let them determine what or how I feel. As the popular phrase says, it sure is easy to dish it out, but taking it sometimes isn't as easy.

Not So Famous French Fries

Mark and I have a pretty good system worked out when it comes to dinner - he cooks and I clean. I continue to practice my cooking skills though it usually ends in a disaster or semi-disaster so I have decided it is better to leave the cooking up to Mark. His food always tastes good.

Although I know that cooking is not my strong point, I thought I would surprise Mark with an all-American themed dinner: hamburgers, (oven) fries, and ice cream with blueberries (I had to eat a Weight Watcher ice cream bar). He had a long drive home from Houston yesterday so I thought he might enjoy this tasty treat.

I needed Mark's help with the burgers (meaning I needed him to make them) while I insisted on making my really great and really tasty oven baked fries. I have made these for myself before and loved them! Forty long-awaited minutes later the fries still looked the same as they did when they went in the oven. Mark's solution to this problem? Broil them. The picture in the pan is what remained after broiling....

We ate "Meghan's World Famous French Fries," as Mark called them, though it is safe to say I would not win any awards at the State Fair of Texas with this recipe!

Color Me Happy

I think I have the best job ever. It is my dream job and one that I have worked very hard to obtain. I test children for admissions to a school that specializes in children with learning differences. I have said many a time that I am blessed to work with such wonderful women in such a unique school but I sometimes take for granted how special is it to work with young children, especially those who have been beaten down by being different among a sea of regular learners.

I was testing an adorable 5-year old this morning who happily grabbed my hand as we walked to my office. She was very chatty and told me all about her desire to talk on a Hannah Montana phone when she was a teenager and how McDonald's chicken fingers were the only chicken fingers worth eating (she clearly has not tasted Sonic's chicken strip dinner). Establishing a good rapport with her was not difficult.

I went along the admission battery as usual until I came to a section of the testing that most every child loves - the rapid naming of colors. I tell them (with great enthusiasm) that they are to name a page full of colors while I time them. For some reason the element of time entices children. Some children get themselves positioned in their chair as if starting a marathon, others use their finger to help guide them across the pages, but my favorite kids are those who get so involved in the race against the timer that they begin to literally scream the colors (and usually not as quickly as they think they are going). This little girl was a screamer... "RED, BLUE, YELLOW, GREEN..." Her voice echoed in my tiny office and I couldn't help but smile.

This simple action not only made my heart happy but also reminded me why I love working in a school - I adore little kids.

As a huge dessert lover, I can't think of anything better than finishing a delightful fish dinner with some delicious frozen custard. It tastes like ice cream though is 90% fat free. It is delicious. Did I mention frozen custard is delicious??? Dessert usually doesn't happen at my parents but last night was a special occasion.

Why were we indulging last night? The counter offer was accepted on the house Mark and I want! My mom suggested celebrating by getting frozen custard in Frisco which also gave us the perfect opportunity to show them our (almost our) new home. I am sure the neighbors thought we were a little odd as we had to shine a large flashlight in the windows to be able to see anything since it was so dark. I kind of felt like I was trespassing on property that is almost ours!

After looking at the house, my dad took us to Double Dip. I got a kid-sized vanilla custard (stupid Weight Watchers), my parents both got chocolate and vanilla custards, and Mark ordered the Dirty Bear custard (gummie bears and crushed Oreos). After eyeballing Mark's tasty treat, next time I am getting the Grasshopper custard for sure (mint, crushed Oreos and custard...yummm!). I don't care how many Weight Watcher points it is.

So, we are already loving the location of our new home...not only because it will be our first home together but also because of the yummy dessert spots close by!

A Dallas Visit

The Lamb family came from Nashville to visit Dallas for the weekend! Their visit had two main purposes: Chad and Jodi wanted to meet Mark and I wanted to meet Sophie. I have known Jodi since college and her friendship means the world to me. I could not wait to meet the newest addition to her family!

It was a wonderful weekend spent eating....and eating....and eating. I think we hit all the hot spots while they were here (Babe's Fried Chicken, Chocolate Angel, Blue Mesa brunch and dessert at my parents). We also went to church on Sunday and got to show them the house Mark and I are hoping to buy.


Mark and Sophie became fast friends. She was mesmerized by Mark's duck calls hanging on the wall and loved sitting in his lap at church. He even promised Sophie she could come to Dallas to go duck hunting with him when she was older. Below is a picture of Sophie's first encounter with a duck call. Mark picked a purple one since she was a girl....

It was a wonderful weekend and I am so thankful Chad and Jodi came to Dallas. There is nothing better than spending time with the people you care about most!

Time with her Grandparents

Last night we took Bandera, Mark's 9-year old Jack Russell, to his parent's house for a bit of a vacation. With Chad, Jodi, and baby Sophie coming to visit us today, we thought it would be best for Bandera to be in a spot where she would not cause trouble....or at least any more trouble than she usually causes! It is funny though, for as much as Mark and I tire of Bandera's barking at the television and Bandera making a mess in the bathroom while we are away for the day, we both instantly missed her when we got in the car to leave Mark's parents. There was no longer a dog who sassed Mark when he gave her orders nor was there a dog to cuddle with me while I watched a TV show. So, as grateful as we are to have a dog-free place for Jodi and Chad to stay for the weekend, we already can't wait to pick Bandera up in a few weeks (or when her grandparents can no longer stand the barking and mess she makes!).