All the Pretty Things

Last week, Daniel and I celebrated our first wedding anniversary. At the time, we were visiting Elmhurst, IL so Daniel could take his brother Joe's senior portraits. Joe is, without a doubt, ready for college. Just take a look at this guy... he simply oozes intelligence.

Seriously, though. This is what college is really about, isn't it? Being comfortable enough with yourself to dress up like a banana and walk around downtown like you own the place. We had a lot of fun taking these pictures- everyone in Elmhurst was simply delighted to see a banana amongst them. Joe was an instant celebrity. The public was especially pleased when we got in the car. His stem was getting squashed down by the roof, so Daniel opened the sunroof and we stuck it out the top. People were practically in tears for joy.

So we celebrated our anniversary in Chicago. Daniel's parents very sweetly got us tickets to see the Broadway musical, The Lion King. It was one of the coolest live performances I've ever seen. You really have to appreciate how much creativity goes into it... the costumes were beautifully ornate, and not at all what you'd expect. (I have to admit, I had my doubts about how someone was going to dance around the stage dressed as Simba without any road bumps.) The best part, hands down, was the music. A lot of the musical numbers are the same as those in the movie, but when you hear it live, it's a lot more powerful. You start to notice that there's like 30-part harmony in every song, a lot of it is sang a cappella, and it's perfectly executed. We were pretty impressed.

Then we went to dinner at this place called Girl and the Goat, which was right up our alley. Then we went and got each other's names tattooed on our bums.

Ok... we didn't do that last part, but we did get our wedding bands tattooed on. Daniel's is a simple band, and mine is an, err... this thingy:

This was taken a few days after I got it, and now it looks like I drew it on with a blue pen then washed my hands several times. I'm going to have to get it retouched once it heals up, but overall, I'm very happy with the design.

People have funny reactions to this, by the way. People are very hesitant about the idea of getting, of all things, your wedding band tattooed on. The most common response I've gotten is, "well, that's certainly a commitment." My answer? "Yes. Incidentally, so was getting married." Another thing I'm experiencing is people's responses to the design. The first thing most people ask is, "What is it?" I would describe it as a fan or half a flower, but it's not really anything other than a shape I thought was pretty. Here are some of the interpretations I've gotten: stained glass, (cool... I can see that. I like stained glass.) lace, (I like lace, too... nice!) and "a chief hat." Seriously? No. I do not like Native American headdresses. At least not enough to get one tattooed on my finger.

Last Friday, we had an anniversary party. Entertaining has been a huge part of our first year- we love having friends over for dinner, to play the Wii, or to make s'mores in our fire pit. So it only seemed natural to celebrate with yet another shindig. I wanted to make this one extra special, so I started reading up, and I found this article that suggested making the party paper themed, since your first anniversary is your paper anniversary. I thought that was awesome, because it involved hand making a bunch of pretty things, which was my favorite part about planning the wedding. I even decided to make Daniel and myself outfits out of paper to wear that night. Now, if you know me at all, you already know how this worked out: it didn't. Why? Because, although I love this kind of thing, I'm not great at it. I can do some semi-artsy-craftsy things that involve minimal hand-eye coordination, but I'm really better off sticking to small projects. I did make an honest attempt, but was quickly disillusioned. To give you an idea, I ended up taking a creme paper tablecloth and cutting a hole in the top for the neck, then cutting holes for my arms, cinching it with crepe paper, then admitting to myself that this was not going well at all. I don't even know how to describe what I looked like. It wasn't good. Same with Daniel's paper vest.

But here are some of my projects that did turn out...

I made garland out of tissue paper flowers (the white ones are made from paper doilies) and raffia, and hung it across the dining room wall.

In between every string of flowers, there was one of paper hearts strung on embroidery floss.

Since Daniel and I lost the top layer of our wedding cake in the flood, I decided to compensate by making a paper cake of hat boxes covered in pretty paper. Then I made cupcakes in the same flavors as our wedding cake.

Remember those tea stained cards we had you write on in lieu of a guest book at the wedding?

I strung some raffia in a couple of places around the living room and fastened those cards on with tiny clothespins. It was so much fun getting those out and reading them again... we have such loving, supportive friends and family. Aaron and Nate, yours both stood out. You made me tear up a little.

We also got out some wedding pictures and set them around, lit candles, and made a playlist of songs we played during different parts of our wedding (pre-ceremony, ceremony and reception). Daniel made a slideshow of wedding photos and highlights from our first year together.

All of our friends from the wedding party who live in town were able to make it, as well as a few new friends. When everyone had arrived, we played a few games, including Mafia, which was definitely the highlight of the evening. Nothing quite like getting a bunch of friends together and having them accuse each other of murder.

It really was so perfect to gather and celebrate with the friends who have been here for us through the ups and downs of our first year. We are constantly reminded how blessed we are to have such loving community.

In other non-news, most of you probably already know that I have a seasonal job at Obelisk, a housewares and gift shop in Green Hills. I've been there for a month now, and am thoroughly enjoying it. The people I work with are wonderful, and it's such a fun, laid back environment. Plus, we sell awesome stuff, like this thingy:

Before I finish this post, I have to brag on my man a little. Today I got to sleep in, and when I woke up I found that Daniel had called around to find a florist who had my favorite flowers (ranunculus) and driven across town to get them.

I am really a very lucky girl, and I hope I never take for granted how much love I have in my life.

Let's All Just Smile and Nod and Say This is About Something Noble

Good for you, Lady Gaga, for making a stand against don't ask don't tell.

Wait a minute though...How exactly does wearing meat make a stand against don't ask don't tell? I wasn't quite clear on that.

"If we don't fight for our rights, pretty soon we're going to have as much rights as the meat on our bones," you say? And you're not a piece of meat? Oh, ok. I get it.

But wait... no I don't. What do... you mean? Waaaiiiit a minute...

Are you sure this isn't all just some elevated excuse for you to get to wear a meat dress?

Because it's kind of starting to seem to me like you just wanted to wear a meat dress.

Yeah. I'm gonna go ahead and say you just wanted to wear a meat dress.

I can't believe I just blogged about Lady Gaga. I suppose you may now count me among the scores of bloggers who simply can't resist this kind of material.

You can watch the Ellen interview containing Gaga's questionable explanation here.

Go Speed Racer!

Yesterday, Daniel's helmet for his new bike came in the mail. He was so excited, and walked around the house wearing it most of the day. I had to get pictures because... well... see for yourself.

There are few things cuter to me than when my husband gets new toys and behaves like an 8 year old.

Disclaimer: Mom, if this is the first you've seen/heard about the bike, I had nothing to do with it. Upon Daniel's purchase of the bike, we agreed that he is subject to all complaints, wrath, concern, etc. of any mothers involved. So call him. I wash my hands of this.

Before and After

I have had several requests to post photos of the new house, so Daniel and I finally got around to it this morning even though we've had the house pretty much set up for a month. Me and procrastination are tight.

I am going to post a few crappy before pictures that I took on my iPhone, mostly to show changes in paint.

Living room before

Living room after

Daniel designed and built this nifty TV mount out of shipping crates. Gotta love a creative man.

Dining room before (the rug came with the house... I don't know.)

Dining room after

Our dining room chalkboard wall- the best thing that ever happened to Daniel Meigs. Including me.

Master bedroom before

Master bedroom after

That's all for now- I will probably post pictures of the kitchen and office on here at some point, after we've made a few more improvements. We're also planning to paint the rest of the walls in the bedroom red, so whenever we get around to it I'll post pictures of that.

In other news, my brother Ryan is getting married in a week! I'm headed to Mississippi on Monday to spend some much needed time with my family and to finally meet my nephew Isaac for the first time. Daniel is shooting the wedding (which is sure to be gorgeous) and will post pictures on his blog before long, so stay tuned for that!

Alleged "Coffee"

I am very old.

Aged.
Decrepit.

So old I have to drink decaf coffee now. Decaf.

In my youth, caffeine had no effect on me whatsoever. I remember the days fondly. My relationship with coffee peaked when I was working at Starbucks. We were allowed to have as many drinks as we wanted during our breaks. In retrospect, I believe that this tactic on Starbucks' part is to obtain lifelong coffee-addicted slaves, much like crack whores. They provided us with as much of our drug as we wanted so long as we worked for them. This was the happy chapter of my life. I would drink as much as 6-8 cups of coffee per day. Once I was turned out into the streets, though, a sinister spiral took place as I tried to live my life apart from my pimp, a mere shell of who I once was.

I was soon forced to abandon my dignity, showing up unkempt in my pajamas at the nearest Starbucks drive-thru with blood shot, begging eyes looking up at the happily supplied Barista who greeted me. "Please. C-coffee." I would croak, holding out a trembling fistful of change.

In those days, caffeine didn't necessarily give me an energy boost, and it most certainly didn't keep me awake at night. I would lull myself to sleep with a warm, comforting double shot of espresso. I simply needed it to survive. Without it, I would have withdrawals, but the high had worn off long ago.

In the past year, a change has taken place which I can no longer ignore. I can't drink coffee past about 2 pm if I hope to get to sleep at a reasonable hour. One wouldn't think that once I realized this, it wouldn't be that difficult to simply adjust my habits accordingly. It is. I can't explain why, but I constantly make excuses to drink coffee after dinner, or while hanging out with friends in the late afternoon. My most common excuse is that it's a "special occasion." As though the effects of caffeine can be reasoned with. My definitions of "special occasion" is becoming terribly broad. A special occasion could mean that I have friends or family in town whom I am entertaining, and I feel that coffee would be a nice touch. It could mean that I'm in the mood to write if I can sit still and focus, which, for some reason, coffee helps me do. Or that I'm quite sad, and coffee would cheer me up. Or it could simply mean that I want to "appreciate" and "celebrate" coffee at 8 pm. My idea of what constitutes a "special occasion" is ever-expanding, and I've reached a point where I can expertly, almost without thinking, render any given moment of any day a special occasion. Then, I invariably lie awake until dawn, riddled with regret and self-loathing, wishing more than anything that the occasion hadn't been so danged special.

In response to this, Daniel has started buying me decaf coffee, or, as I like to call it, placebo coffee. I have never understood the point of decaf coffee. It's kind of like non-alcoholic beer. I have reached a point, though, where I am willing to brew decaf coffee just to satisfy my craving, helping myself maintain the illusion of fulfillment.

So Yes.

I am old.

Back with a Vengeance. And some baby pictures.

Alright friends... It has really been too long. But where to begin? Can I just write an outline until I feel like filling in details? I think that is what I must do.

• April 23: Our new baby nephew, Isaac Daniel Wachdorf is born!
  
  
  Click here to view more pictures and videos of this adorable baby boy.

• May 1: Daniel leaves town for the weekend.
  
  
• May 2: Ryan and Rebekah get engaged! Woohoo! August 14th!
  Also, Hannah and Daniel's apartment floods. Remember how Daniel's outof town? Yeah.
  
  
  
• May 3: Hannah's finals week kicks into full gear, and Daniel returns to Nashville.
  
  
• May 5: Hannah and Daniel sign lease on a new (much cooler, much bigger, miraculously cheaper) house.
  
  
• May 6-7: Hannah and Daniel move everything worth moving to new house, with much help from beloved friends and family.
  
  
• May 8: Daniel leaves the country in the morning, Hannah graduates college in the afternoon.
  
  
• May 8-26: Daniel travels the world while Hannah unpacks and cleans at the new house.
  
  
  
• May 21-23: Hannah goes to Oxford, MS for Clark Rice's baptism, and gets a much needed family fix.
  
  
• May 26-June 2: A happy time in Hannah's life. (Daniel is home.)
  
  
• June 2: Daniel leaves again, Hannah cries and cries.
  
  
• June 4: But not for long! Hannah is off to Mississippi to visit her sweet friends Racheal Burnett and Rachel Purser in Jackson, MS.
  
  
• June 6: All good things must come to an end, however, and Hannah cries some more until she picks Daniel up from the airport the same evening.
  
  
• June 8-9: Hannah and Daniel go to Oxford to shoot engagement pictures for Ryan and Rebekah.
  
  
  
  View more pictures of the gorgeous couple here.
  
  
• Today: Things are winding down and getting back to sweet, comforting normalcy.

So... that pretty much covers everything important.

So far, we have replaced most of the essentials that we lost in the flood (living room and dining room furniture, kitchen appliances, etc.) We are so proud of our cute new house and have been having a lot of fun painting and decorating it. I will post pictures when things get a little more presentable around here.

I have been on a reading frenzy since graduation. I'm like a kid in a candy store- the whole world of literature has just opened up in front of me. You might think that completing my English degree would have satisfied my literary appetite for a while, but let me explain. For the past four years, I have had very little free time to read what I've wanted to because I've always been reading for school. I have been developing this mental list that I can't actually keep track of in any organized fashion of books I've been wanting to read, and now every time one of them pops up in a conversation or a book store or my head, I can just... read it. It's so exhilarating to be able to read whatever I want to- it's like discovering reading for the first time all over again. The only problem is that I am getting sucked into too many books at once. I'm reading five books at the moment, and have five that come to mind that I intend to start reading any minute now. At this rate, I wonder if I'll ever be able to actually finish another book in my life.

Meanwhile, I'm looking for a job. This is a much less exciting topic for me, so I'll probably be brief. Or maybe I'll rant. We'll see.

So far, all I've done is browse online classifieds day and night, write cover letters, tailor my resume ever so slightly for some positions, and email strangers asking for work. I am starting to feel like a lunatic because not one person has responded to an email I've written. I must have applied for at least 20 jobs by now. At least. And no one has answered. I am starting to secretly believe that Craigslist is actually the Matrix, and Craig just posts ads day and night to maintain the illusion that there are actual people out there looking for employees, and stringing me along as some sort of cruel joke. Maybe I'm the only person who buys the whole Craigslist thing anymore, so Craig has deserted the other communities and mostly just focuses on Nashville, occasionally posting ads in Hendersonville, Spring Hill or Murfreesboro to keep things believable for me. Meanwhile he's got cameras set up all over my house and he's broadcasting my job hunt like the Truman show, and everyone is tuning in to watch me shuffle into the office in my p.j.s every morning to tinker on the computer, drinking my coffee and applying for imaginary jobs in my naivety. "Will you look at that idiot??" they all jeer. "She really thinks that someone's going to answer! Look at all that hope... that pathetic hope. I almost feel sorry for her."

Sigh.

Before I go, I have a prayer request to make: Tomorrow morning, Daniel's mom, Jerri Meigs is having spinal surgery to hopefully correct some severe pain she's been having. Please pray that the surgery goes well and is successful in alleviating her pain.

Well, that's all I've got for now. I promise to post a little puppy montage sometime soon to break up some of the heavy, intimidating blocks of text on here. :) So tune in for that...

My Final Finals Week Marathon: Surviving on Cheerios, Neglecting Hygiene

I have had a few complaints about my failure to blog for the past few weeks. My response to this is to direct you to another blog, where something very exciting is happening. My sister Haley gave birth to a beautiful baby boy, Isaac Daniel Wachdorf, last Friday. Daniel and I are so proud of our precious new nephew, and can't wait to meet him. There are pictures on Haley's blog. Go forth and swoon.

In the meantime, I'm smack dab in the middle of final papers and exams, so if you'll excuse me, I'm going to get back to that. I'd also like to warn you that it would not be advisable to stand within 500 feet of me for the next week or so, as I have temporarily given up bathing.

Tune in sometime after my graduation on May 8th to find out what has happened recently in the lives of the Meigs.

Attention! Spoiler Alert!

Not very much, actually.

Ah, what a day.

Today has been eventful, to say the least.

As those of you who have recently had a phone conversation with me know, my little Samsung Blackberry-rip-off has desperately needed replacing for some time. I didn't get any reception in my house, I rarely got it anywhere else, and if we were talking long distance, you could forget about me understanding more than half of what you said. So when I returned from a trip to Mississippi last weekend, Daniel (probably out of sheer desperation after trying to fit in a decent conversation with me between "what?"s and "hold up, I'm going down a hill"s,) decided it was high time for a trip to the good old AT&T store. We weren't able to make it in until this morning, and in the meantime, Daniel silently mulled over the pros and cons of an iPhone. He eventually concluded that if we were buying me a phone we might as well get an iPhone, and that we could swing the bill if we took texting off our plan for now. When he pitched this proposal to me, I agreed and said that I was definitely willing to sacrifice texting for all the perks of an iPhone, so it was settled.

This morning I had to go to class first thing, but Daniel said he would be able to do everything at AT&T; he would just need my old phone. I handed it over, happy to see it go, and went on my merry way to class.

Or so I thought...

As I drove and drank my seriously amazing cup of coffee Daniel had fixed me, I thought about what a beautiful morning it was, and how glad I was to be up to witness the birds chirping, the cool air and the sunshine. I felt a renewed motivation and gusto for life, and decided that I was going to start working out. And writing more. And keeping up with the news. And that, in spite of never having been a morning person- ever- I would make time for my new goals by rising earlier to greet the day.

I was so lost in this euphoric daydream that I barely noticed when my car started to decelerate. As I started up a hill, I was startled awake when the pressure I applied to the gas pedal elicited no response. "Oh, crap," I thought. "Oh, well. Don't panic- it's no big deal... just call Da.... OH CRAP."

I pulled over to the shoulder of I-24, sat there for a few minutes to collect my thoughts, and then I got out and started walking. I figured I'd walk to the nearest exit and find somewhere I could use a phone. I didn't get very far before a good Samaritan pulled over to help. He was a really sweet man named Otis, and when I explained that I didn't have my phone, he let me borrow his. It was only then that I remembered that Daniel had changed his number less than 24 hours earlier, and I didn't know his new number.

Luckily, Otis had internet access on his phone, and I soon recalled that Daniel had updated his facebook status with his new number. I really have no idea how I would have gotten him on the phone today otherwise. In the end, Otis dropped me off at a Starbucks off the next exit, where I waited for Daniel.

It turns out that my timing belt snapped. We have a neighbor who is a mechanic and he is going to fix it for us for a very reasonable price once we can afford the parts. In the meantime, we're going to have to figure out some sort of schedule with Daniel's car that will allow us to be everywhere we need to be. The good news is, I will have a super cool phone to play on while waiting on my ride 5 hours after my classes end...

In other news, Daniel and I have become very popular in our neighborhood since we acquired a puppy, which is, apparently, what it takes to be the coolest kids on the block. I have a little gang of 5-7 kids who run squealing to greet me every evening when they see me pull up. I first met them when I was taking Naavah out to play in the front yard. Now, they just show up at my house, puppy or no puppy, hugging me, asking for candy and requesting that I read them stories. They also like to come inside and explore our house; they are fascinated by the mac mini hooked up to our TV ("why is that TV a computer?"), the fact that we have christmas lights strung across the ceiling in our half-bath down stairs, ("are you decorating for next Christmas?") and my hair ("who braids it?")

It's been a while since I've been around kids this age, and I guess I had forgotten how disarmingly sweet they are. It has been so much fun to read them the story books I got for my campers when I worked at CRS, offer them each a piece of candy when they come over, and let them crawl all over our furniture and my lap. Kids have a unique way of making your day so much brighter when you see how they embrace and love their world with no restraint. It's really sweet to see that and to be a recipient of it.

Today, the new phone was the center of attention. They especially liked playing with the "voice memos" app. Here are a few samples:

Haley

Angena Pledge of Allegiance

I don't feel like this post is complete until I mention something Daniel did while i was out of town that made my week. We have a shed attached to our house where our washing machine and dryer live, and it has become home to many other odds and ends. It had gotten to be a chaotic mess, and somewhere along the line we got a leak in one of the hoses going to the washer. I always dreaded going out to dig for something or trying to do laundry without letting any clean clothes fall in the big puddle under my feet. While I was gone, Daniel fixed the leak, and organized the shed beautifully. I have no before pictures, which is probably for the best... I'd rather pretend that none of it ever happened. But here are the afters:

Oh, and he got me flowers, too. :)

One more thing: This summer, Daniel's off to see the world! Again! If you don't already know about his upcoming job with Passion Conferences on their World Tour, you can read about it on his blog. He is so honored to have been asked to shoot this year, and I am thrilled for him.

Well, that covers just about everything. Consider yourselves fully updated. I know the suspense must have been killing you. Well, you can all just compose yourselves now. Take it easy. Calm. Down.

Puppy, puppy, puppy, other stuff, puppy.

Okay, so I am realizing that for the next few weeks this blog is going to be much less about me than it is going to be about Naavah and how freaking adorable she is. I feel the need to warn those of you who have been reading that there will be nothing substantial going on here. I'm just going to update constantly about her hic-ups, her relationship with Wilco, her house training, etc. Feel free to tune me out.

Naavah sleeps most of the time, which I don't think will last very long. We got Wilco when he was about 6 weeks older than her, and he was wildly energetic, displaying symptoms of ADHD and/or demon possession. I hope that her cuddly nature will last into adulthood, though. She loves to snuggle more than anyone I've ever met. She loves being held, and if there's no one to cuddle with, she will burrow under a pillow or between the couch cushions. Today, she and Wilco cuddled for the first time, and I felt like my wildest dreams had come true. I want them to be good friends, and so far it's looking like we can expect just that. They've been playing so well together- he's been so patient, and she has learned quickly that she can trust him not to chomp her head off, even though he is 10 times her size.

With Babs, Naavah is having no such luck. I'm not planning to leave those two in a room unsupervised, since I keep catching Babs assuming hunter's stance while staring crazily at Naavah and swishing her tail. Sorry Babs... it's not gonna happen.

For the most part, however, everyone is living in harmony. Daniel and I have noticed that if we stay in the same room for a substantial period of time, all three of our pets will join us. Today, we brought Naavah with us to take a nap and left the door open. Wilco wandered in looking pitiful, so we invited him to get in the bed, which never happens. He was too excited to sleep at first, and kept turning in circles, lying down, standing back up, turning the other direction, etc. Babs wasn't far behind, and hopped up on the footboard to observe the chaos. Eventually, everyone in the house was asleep in the same full sized bed. It was a bonding experience.

Meanwhile, I'm afraid I will never complete another productive task. I try to wash the dishes, but then I "take a break," pick Navaah up, and don't set her down for several days... rinse, repeat.

Yesterday we took Naavah to Petsmart, and after finding the only collar that fit her, we went to check out. The cashier pointed to Naavah and asked, "this for that dog?" When we answered yes, she responded, "You know this a cat collah, right?" "No, we didn't," I answered, "But that explains the bell. We'll take it."

In other, more newsworthy news, the Meigs came through town last night and we enjoyed a short but sweet visit with them. Mary and Joe are on spring break this week, and so they were heading down to Gulf Shores for the first trip in their new pop-up camper. When they got to town, Daniel, Nate, the Meigs and I all went to The Family Wash. We enjoyed good food, good conversation, and, in little Hannah's case, a very refreshing nap in Daniel's lap. Since they were delayed by a flat tire, they camped in our driveway overnight.This morning, we got up and had coffee with them before they got back on the road. This was the first time for them to see our house since we've been married, and we were really happy to have family in our home.

Speaking of people in our home, I have a strong desire for everyone to see Naavah before she gets any bigger. If you're planning on coming to Nashville soon, or just crossing town for a visit, you are more than welcome to- the sooner, the better. I want to share the joy of a pocket sized puppy while she's still so tiny.

Can you imagine how absurd I will be when I have an actual baby? Food for thought...

Meet Naavah

Today, we were hoping to find some time to go look at a few litters of huskies we'd found online. We didn't plan on making any purchases just yet, we just wanted to shop around. We realized the folly of this plan only after it was too late, and we were on our way home with the first puppy some stranger put in my arms. I don't know what we thought was going to happen. Like we were going to casually and conscientiously sort through all the reasonably priced puppies in the greater Nashville area, then go home to sleep on it, saying, "I don't know... none of those puppies were as cute as I'd hoped." Right.
We weren't even sure we were getting a puppy. A little piece of advice: if you ever want a puppy but are not sure you should get one, don't go look at puppies to help you make your decision. Because as strong as you are, you cannot resist the cuteness of a puppy. Any puppy. Even if you hate dogs... you love puppies. You are putty in their tiny paws. They'll look at you with these adorable (blue!) eyes that say, "take me home with you! I'll be good, I promise!" and then you'll melt and take them to your house, where they will promptly poop on your brand new carpet.
I am so in love with this little girl, (it's a girl,) and so is Daniel. Her name is Naavah. Here are some pictures, lest you judge our rash decision. Could you resist this face?
Her first bath. She was not a fan, but she smells awesome now.


Wilco loves his baby sister, and tries not to scare her.

Crying Over Spilled Milk

Today, my friend Kirsten pointed out a hilarious theme in my marriage thus far.
First, she reminded me of how Daniel and I argued during our engagement over what kind of milk we were going to buy: regular milk, or Hatcher Nectar of Life. Produced right here in Middle Tennessee, Hatcher Dairy's non homogenized milk is clearly what God had in mind when he made cows. Its flavor is sweet, rich, and deliciously creamy. So what if it has a few chunks in it? I enjoy few things more than a cold glass of Hatcher Dairy milk, and don't mind drinking around a little cream. However, since the mere thought of finding a "fat plug," as he affectionately calls it, at the top of a carton makes Daniel nauseous, this is a luxury I sacrificed when I entered the bonds of matrimony. It was for the well being of our marriage, and though it was worth it, every day I feel the sting of life without Hatcher.

She then recounted how, after our first couple of months of marriage, I almost wept for joy when Daniel finally brought home salted butter from the store. Prior to this gesture, we had kind of a silent war going on- whoever made it to Kroger first got to choose whether the butter was salted or unsalted. "What", I asked on a semi daily basis, "is the point of unsalted butter? You're just spreading a layer of tasteless fat on your toast!" The day I opened the refrigerator door and realized that Daniel had sacrificed whatever affinity he had for that bland stuff for the sake of my happiness, I knew he must really love me. It was the most romantic thing he's ever done. To his credit, he's done many more conventionally romantic things, but somehow, this meant more.

This afternoon, I showed up on Kirsten's doorstep, my cheeks stained with tears. As she let me in, I explained, "I'm having a meltdown over butter!"
"I know it's silly," I laughed. "But I used the last of our butter in that stupid cake last night. Now I'm about to make french bread with dinner and I really want butter, but we're out of money. I'm always a good sport when money is low, so I don't know why this is getting to me! I know it's not a big deal, but I think the fact that it's such a small thing is what makes it easy to feel sorry for myself. 'We can't even have butter'...you know? That kind of thing."
"I understand," she answered. "It's totally natural for you to feel defeated, and the fact that you haven't let it get you down before probably means that all the stress is concentrated in this one thing, and you feel like it's all about the butter, but really, it's more than that." (after a brief pause,) "have you noticed, though, that you are kind of emotional about dairy products?"
Being the sweet friend that Kirsten is, she empathized, made me some chai tea, lent me some butter and sent me on my way feeling more than refreshed.

After I left, I got a text from Sarah Emily asking if I'd like to hang out. Earlier, Daniel had suggested inviting Nate for dinner, so I decided since we'd have plenty of food we should make a little party out of spaghetti night. I called Kirsten, and soon, the five of us were hanging out at our house, laughing and breaking bread together. Bread with precious butter.

I learned a few things today. First of all, I learned that money matters to me more than I like to think it does. I didn't used to think of myself as someone who cared about money because I'd never really had to go without. Over the past few months, we've seen our ups and downs financially, and Daniel has commended me for how well I've adjusted to our new lifestyle thus far. But I realized today that I need to be vigilant about those feelings of discontent that will creep in during times when we have to sacrifice luxuries. I also realized that the things that are going to get me down are almost always going to be small, but Daniel and I don't have to look very far to realize that we're extremely blessed. Tonight, we were surrounded by friends who love us like we're family, and that is no small thing. In fact, it's one of the most valuable things we'll ever attain.

My Hero

When I was four years old, I absentmindedly jumped into the deep end of a pool without floaties. Not sure how I managed to forget this vital detail, but the important thing is that my seven year old brother, Aaron, came to my rescue. After he pulled me out of the pool and I finished choking up water, I declared him "Myyy hero!" I would like to share one of many reasons Aaron still deserves this title.
Yesterday was the five year anniversary of Aaron's survival after being injured by a road side bomb in Iraq. He was flown to Germany where his left leg was amputated below the knee. I remember the 4 days before Aaron woke up from sedation as some of the longest I've ever experienced. We were all so worried, and didn't know if he'd been conscious during the explosion and its aftermath. When he woke up in Bethesda Naval hospital where our parents and his new wife Kelly were waiting for him, he told my dad that he'd woken up while being transported to the States and someone had told him about his leg. He later recounted his experience of the blast. He was awake when a comrade tied the tourniquet and he'd known as soon as he saw his leg that he wouldn't keep it.
We had always know what a strong and determined person Aaron was, but during the months following the attack, we witnessed super-human strength we couldn't have known to expect. We watched as Aaron pushed himself through rehabilitation with a confident attitude and a cheerful spirit. I know there were days when rehab was excruciatingly painful and discouraging, and while Aaron didn't deny this, he was never resentful and never let himself sink. I saw him comfort others instead of pitying himself. I will never forget the first time I saw Aaron in the hospital after he was injured. Audrey and I had spent the silent plane ride to Maryland nervously wondering what we could say that would be any comfort to him. When we saw him, he pulled himself upright in his bed, stretched out his arms to us, kissed our faces and immediately began explaining why he would be fine. He told us that they made prosthetics so advanced now that he would be able to swim better and run faster than he ever could with his old leg. He'd always been so persuasive, and here he was in a hospital bed, trying to debate us out of our worry. We laid our heads on either of his shoulders and cried as he comforted us. This was March 25, one week after the explosion.
This year, on January 6th, Clark Randall Rice, Aaron and Kelly's first son was born. Aaron is such a proud, doting father, and I'm so thankful for his life and the precious new life he and Kelly have brought into our world.


You can view Aaron and Kelly's blog here.

I would like to leave you with some facebook status updates from yesterday.

Kelly Anne Rice: Today is Aaron's 5th Survivor Day. I, personally, am very glad he is alive and am grateful for everything he did for us.

Audrey Rice: Five years ago today, God saved my brother Aaron's life. Praise God for this and his many other blessings he has shown my family.

Haley Rice Wachdorf: thankful for my brother Aaron, his wife Kelly and their awesome baby Clark on Aaron's 5th Survivor Day.

And finally, Aaron Rice: Ah, ah, ah, ah, stayin alive, stayin alive. Ah, ah, ah, ah, stayin alive.

Happy Survivor Day, Aaron, and thanks for making sure I survived my preoccupied childhood. If natural selection had it's way, I'd be a goner.

Hiya, buddy!

This is my first blog post in over three years. I haven't felt up to keeping a blog until yesterday, when, out of nowhere, I decided it was an excellent idea... so here I am! When I talked to my sister Haley today, she attributed my disinterest in writing for pleasure to my being forced to write academically for four years straight as an English major. This makes sense to me. As I near graduation, though, maybe I sense that I will need this outlet soon to keep me writing something...anything. We'll see.
Remember when you were seven and you would fill up one diary, so you'd get a new one and feel the need to re-introduce yourself to.. yourself? "Hi, I'm Hannah. I am seven yeers Old. I live in Yazoo City and I have two Cats and no dogs. my favorit color is purpel or lime green." I kind of feel the need to do that here, though I don't imagine that anyone reading this doesn't already know the basics. Just for good measure, here they are:
I hail from Hattiesburg, MS and I am the fourth of five children. My family is very close, and full of personality. I got married last October to my best friend, Daniel Meigs. We live in Nashville, TN with our dog Wilco and our cat Babs (short for Whore of Babylon). Daniel is a photographer, and a very talented one at that. (Am I allowed to say that? I promise I take no personal credit whatsoever for this.) You can view his work here. I am currently an undergrad student, but will soon graduate and be launched into the shadowy abyss that is job hunting. I am no fool- I am well aware that my Liberal Arts diploma would serve me better as a napkin than it will in my career. But alas... when I was but a sophomore, I came to realize that there was a major whose requirements I could meet by taking a course solely on the novels of Jane Austen... who could resist? (Okay... I can maybe think of a few people.)
I am an INFP personality. In short, I am intuitive, idealistic, empathetic, nurturing, and can be very driven and motivated when working at something I believe in. Though I tend to avoid conflicts and am generally a very gentle person, if one of my values (something or someone I care about) is threatened, I can become fierce.
I have recently been able to admit to slightly more people with slightly less embarrassment that I am an aspiring, albeit amateur fiction writer. I am taking a fiction workshop this semester, and after my professor talked to us about different ways to make a living writing fiction without necessarily being widely known or having a "big break," I now feel a little less like I'm announcing that I want to be a rock star when I grow up. I don't need recognition, but if I can write something that moves even one person, that will be so rewarding. I really take heart in knowing that hard work can pay off, even if you're never immortalized in the world of literature. My short-term goal is to get at least one short story published by the end of this year in a literary journal or online magazine. I may be posting drafts here for feedback.
As a hobby, I also enjoy songwriting. I'm not well-versed an any instruments but I am familiarizing myself with the guitar at the moment. I took lessons in High School so I know some basics, but I'm in a one hour course right now where we're learning to sight read, and I'm improving. Daniel plays mandolin and violin, so we've been having fun trying to play along with Patty Griffin and Denison Witmer lately. My friend Sarah Emily is a staff engineer at a studio in town, and we've recorded a couple of electronica/pop songs together. It's always fun to write lyrics for the music she programs and I am increasingly impressed by how talented she is.
I guess there's not much left to say about my life... tune in for more as things develop!