what is it about bunnies? seriously - I think I might spontaneously melt here.

another fun way to kill some time . . . (click here)

it is day two on my lovely new job. yes, lovely. I'm working on campus at UGA, and there's still several weeks to settle in before the students descend in the campus and everyone gets a little crazy and stressed for a few weeks. seriously though, this is great! I can go for a walk around campus if I need it, Downtown is right there (I'm in Brooks Hall), but far enough away that I don't have to smell it (on the bad days) if I don't want to. lovely. the ladies in the office are wonderful, to the point, and easy to get along with as long as the work gets done.

I saw Transformers & Harry Potter 5 recently, and both were awesome. Transformers was better than I expected, and I really want to go see it again while it's in the theater. HP5 was really well adapted from the book.

well, I thought I was tired yesterday, but it seems that was nothing compared to today. why is that? well there was a wedding on saturday. my baby brother is a married man now, and on his way to Hawaii with his new bride as I'm writing this. well . . . I think. I don't know what time their flight was supposed to leave today.

yesterday, after stumbling into church, I suddenly realized how exhausted I actually was. maybe it was divine providence that the service ran a bit shorter than usual. then it was off to a restaurant (none of the family really felt like cooking), and home for a nap . . . followed by four loads of laundry!!! it was a loooooonnnnggggg weekend.

I'm looking at the calendar on my desk and realizing that tomorrow is the first day of summer (and the longest day of the year). it's also sixteen days until my little brother's wedding (Sam, not David), and so we're probably about to get slammed. starting monday, we have David's birthday, mom's birthday, July 4th, my birthday, and then the wedding. oh, and a trip down to Ft. Walton for my great-aunt's memorial service. can we say "whirlwind"? :-) it'll be great though, and the water down at Ft. Walton beach was beautiful last year when we were there. I might even be coming back with a little friend for Bitty . . . maybe.

I am sooooo thankful for my gym membership right now. there's the part about feeling great, which is awesome. however, it's that I don't have to work out in THE GEORGIA HEAT that is fabulous right now. while it has been unusually dry lately, it's still too hot to be doing the 7-8 miles that I've been doing almost every day after work OUTSIDE.

bring in the soap!

I'm on my second Gerbera daisy this year at work. the first one fell prey to aphids, and I'm seeing spots again on the new one as well. I'm going to try the insecticidal soap, but the poor little plant is NOT looking happy. now the orchids in my bedroom are thriving, and some are even putting out new shoots. however, I have reservations about bringing any into the office - the air tends to be pretty dry.

the new Transformers movie looks like it could be a pretty decent summer flick. fine. cool. I might have gone to see it anyway. but now I know that MUTE MATH recorded the theme, I'm definitely going to have to see it. why? this particular band ups the geek-chic exponentially. because out of all the concerts I have EVER been to, they do the best. but hey, when the drummer is amazing AND he has to gaffer-tape his headphones on . . . really, go see them live. anyway, the movie might end up being overdone and annoying, but let's hope not. I plan on seeing it. maybe not opening weekend though . . . and I still find it interesting that this band hails from New Orleans.

last week was NUTS, so it's taken a minute to slow down and write . . . .

POTC 3 was awesome . . . and every other woman I spoken to about it agrees that Orlando at the end was something else. in the best possible way. and if I can find a screencap or still or whatnot I will be posting it.

while Athens will always be my birth-home, Nashville/Franklin is my heart-home. which doesn't even make sense to me all the time (no beach, colder winter than here, no local UK accents . . . ), it is. and I miss it dearly.

I have lost ten, TEN pounds . . . and not by any crazy, shock-your-system, crazy-fad diets. cardio, weights, less sugar and lots of water.

now I have to find something to wear to my little brother's wedding . . .

I'm spending the evening with some pirates.

counterpoint

WARNING: spoiler alert!

Pat is trashing the finale on his blog, so here's mine . . .

I love HEROES. HEROES is awesome. it's fun sci-fi. and while it may borrow from a lot of comic book lore (because what haven't they done in the comic book world?), it's still great. and I for one enjoyed the season finale. I wish Hiro had taken Sylar's head (a la Highlander), but oh well . . . I guess they wanted another option for next season. maybe he's dead, maybe he dragged himself into that sewer. the heroes finally figured out that they could beat him, even if they weren't totally in control of their powers. Nikki with the parking meter? nice. Claire bellyfloping out of the window - cool. Peter pummeling Sylar? YES!

the dvd set is coming out in August, and I already have it on my Amazon list.

Peter's the bomb in more ways than one . . . ;-)

oh, and I'm so very very happy that Stargate: Atlantis is back. very happy indeed.

workaholics?

ok, so call my crazy, but isn't it the point of a VACATION that you DON'T come in to work? I think someone here missed the memo . . .

2.5 more work days and then I will be driving to Nashville . . . (happy dance!)

frosty

I had a minor personal victory last night - I successfully recharged my car's A/C. this is especially nice as I'm going to be driving through Atlanta next Friday afternoon on my way to Nashville.

I finally got the dates posted for the Radiant summer book club. I think it was harder cutting books than finding them. there's a good variety, a novel, a biography, a really great book on prayer, and a few others. There's also a women's Craft Fix coming up June 3rd. lots to do this summer . . .

minor rant

Outlook keeps "eating" dates that I've entered into the calendar at work . . . so not cool!

smell of burning wood

we woke up this morning to a thin blanket of smoke this morning. apparently winds have pushed the smoke from the wildfires in south Georgia all the way up to Atlanta, and even a little further northeast here in Watkinsville (and Athens).

we need rain in all of Georgia.

and we're back

now that the Radiant blog is up and running, it's just going to be easier to run things off of one account (yay, Google!). I'll be moving posts over soon. I hope. :-)

Gilmore Girls is ending for good tonight, and I'm not sure how I feel about that yet. maybe too many television relationships have taken their toll . . .

I'm heading up to Nashville for a long weekend next friday, and I just wish it was sooner. I need to get out of town and chill. (no drama this time . . . please!?)

six months

it’s astounding how much or little can change in six months. for me, there’s been alot of change. so much so in fact, that sometimes I don’t recognize myself. it’s only for a moment of course, but it’s true. I was so afraid, so anxious all the time. not so much now. after my grandmother died I finally forgave myself for some things. I’d asked God for forgiveness, asked other people for their forgiveness, but never considered forgiving myself. then one night I finally did. and then I changed a little bit. just a shift, which wouldn’t seem like much, but sometimes that half-step changes the entire piece.

(thud)

is the sound of my bag hitting the floor.

it’s been busy this week! busy is good . . . busy means that time goes quickly . . . busy also means that I have a list of people I need to call back in my free time.

it’s funny to think that this time last year I was working on my Exit show, trying NOT to have a nervous breakdown. that weekend was insane.

I’m trying to get little things ready for the Craft Fix this weekend at COTN . . . hopefully it will be the start of some new things for the women at the church. if enough people are interested, we can start offering some topical Art classes or workshops. this summer I want to try out a more open study format for Radiant Women. one of the books that I would love to offer doesn’t seem like it would work as well for a weekly study as it would for a monthly or three-week study. but it’s a great book, and I think it would be really helpful for some of the younger women. plus, it’s summer . . . who wants to have your weeks booked solid in the summer?? summer in Georgia usually leaves me inclined to find the coolest cave possible and stay there until it’s over . . .

tired

yesterday was the funeral for someone I used to know. she was this wonderful, beautiful woman named Kari who was married to a friend who I’ve know for about as long as I can remember. her death was sudden, and during sleep. she took with her their unborn child as well. as sad and horrible as this might seem to some, she is Home. Kari had these awful seizures, and it was one of those that sent her spirit to Heaven last week. we were all together at the Women’s conference the night before, and it wasn’t until noon the following day that most of us found out. not everyone took it well, or at least at first. I’m not going to go into some of what happened later that day . . . I’m still trying to understand it myself. the leadership of the conference dedicated the last service to her. it was beautiful, full of dancing and worship, just like her.

life keeps going. we said goodbye to two women over the last seven days . . . my aunt and my friend are with the Father.

it’s been a long week, and I’m so tired . . .

the conference

last thursday I left my house a little before 5am (yeah) to head up to Fort Mill, SC for the MorningStar “Women in the Kingdom” conference. it was wonderful. truly awesome. and, as I found out later, it was put together by women who “don’t really like women’s ministries and don’t even really like women.” which makes total sense to me. until recently, most of my friends were guys. I didn’t grow up with any sisters, so I just don’t get that whole thing. and the “typical” female behaviors used to drive me up the wall. all this makes it seem strange I guess that I volunteered to lead a women’s group, right? yeah, I wasn’t asked, I asked them. but I guess maybe that’s why it works, because some of us are tired of the cute (nothing wrong with cute), and want something that’s different. something where we can dig in and say “that snake is MINE, hand me my hoe” and hack the thing to pieces.

anyway, it was a great conference and I feel like I learned alot. not to mention faced some things that I had allowed to stop me from go after things in my life. still it makes me wonder . . . why havn’t some of the others who have been going up there for other conferences brought back the knowledge and skills to pour back into the church here. that baffles me.

trying it out

I'm moving the blog (maybe temporarily, maybe not) here.

-Meredith

(ouch)

it's monday and my head is throbbing . . . probably because of the 9.2 pollen count? I love spring around here, but we need a nice rain shower.

yesterday I went to a dirt bike race . . . it was awesome. this one was an endurance race, so it was about finishing, not finishing first. a couple of my friends' husbands race, so we girls would drive around and meet the guys at the fuel and reset stops. it was so much fun. it was also cool to see the guys being guys . . . reminded me of when I read Wild at Heart.