Loquacious Lady

I am accident prone and clumsy.

I think we have established that before, when discussing my falling down a lot, stabbing myself in the hand, etc. I mean, if a meteor were to fall from the sky and hit one person on earth, it would make a beeline trail to Suwanee, GA and land on my head, just so it could add insult to injury as I tripped over my own feet while walking on a flat, even surface.

So I guess no one should be surprised that I drop my phone. Often.

My poor Palm Pre didn’t stand a chance. Already prone to suffer problems, as the hardware was faulty, being dropped did not help things with my old phone. So when Tom and I made the switch to the HTC Evo 4G, which we both love, by the way, neither of us was willing to risk my new phone suffering as my old one had.

This was not going to happen to me:

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Enter Otterbox.

Otterbox is a brand that sells cases for cellphones, iPods, iPads, Kindles, Nooks, etc. They have all different levels of protection.

We decided that we needed maximum protection for my phone, and I received a “Defender Series” case for my Evo from Tom’s parents at Christmas.

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It is defined on the site like this:

“About our Defender Series: An innovative three layer design protects your EVO from bumps, drops, scratches and dust while keeping your phone fresh as new. This rugged case boasts built-in touch screen protection, a top-quality polycarbonate mid-layer and durable silicone to top it all off.”

Sounds about right for me! The only thing missing is that they don’t make a case for the Evo that’s waterproof. Because, knowing me, I will be in a flood at some point.

Anyway, I’m sold on this product. I’ve been using it since Christmas day, and I LOVE IT. My phone is a little bulkier with the case, it’s true, but it also means that my phone doesn’t have a scratch on it.

And trust me, it has been dropped. On cement, on floors, on tables, in dirt, etc. It has been chewed on by teething one-year-olds and has had toothpaste flicked on it by accident as I read my email while brushing my teeth. It has bumped around in my car, my purse, and my pockets.

And it still looks like new.

I can also tell you from using my case over a touchscreen phone that it does not hinder touchscreen usability.

The only “complaint” I have is that the case’s kickstand broke. I put the word complaint in quotations because I never used the kickstand anyway. Not sure what I’m talking about?

My phone comes with a kickstand in the back in case I want it to be hands free during a video chat or a tv show I stream on my phone.

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So, since it would be covered up with the case, and, therefore, it would be inaccessible, my Otterbox case had a plastic kickstand in the same spot so I could still use it like that if I wanted to.

But I never did. I just don’t think to use it. The other day, I was showing some friends in our small group my case and said, “yeah, the only negative in reviews I read on it is that the kickstand is supposed to be pretty weak.”

And as I said that, I opened the kickstand only to have it fall off in my hand. Guess the reviews were right. We all thought it was pretty funny, but it’s the only thing about the case that’s not solidly built, so, like I said, I didn’t care.

I know a lot of people who use the iPhone and many who have iPads or the iPod touch. Common complaint? This happening when they are dropped:

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Shattering. Ouch.

Or what about the screen just getting scratched? That’s annoying.

Otterbox makes cases that would prevent that from happening. And, unlike with my phone, the iPhone cases have options for color, giving it a lot more personality (and making it easier to find in a purse):

Some colorful options for the iPhone:

The iPhone isn’t the only thing that can get a colorful case, though. A few other items and brands (complete list here) get options other than a black case as well. Bonus-  many of the different type of pink case’s proceeds help support breast cancer research.

I have even heard that there is a waterproof Otterbox case for the iPhone, but I couldn’t find it on their site. They do make waterproof cases for the iPod, though.

If waterproof cases in general are your thing, check out this link. It will take you to all of their waterproof cases, including some waterproof boxes where you can store any valuable items or documents you want to protect from possible water damage. (Just in case you take your will and the deed to your house with you when you go fishing, I guess.)

These cases don’t come cheap. They do cost more than your generic phone case. But trust me here, they are worth it.

Basically, what it comes down to is that paying $50 for a case is much better than paying for a new phone because you dropped and broke yours,  plus dealing with the hassle of having had to go without your phone for a while, losing all your pictures, videos, etc., on that phone,  then having to update your new phone to be as your old phone was- all customized to your liking.

If you have a phone or electronic device whose case is made by Otterbox, I really recommend getting it. Even if you are careful, there’s no guarantee that you won’t drop it or that someone else won’t knock it over on accident at some point. Better to be safe than sorry.

And these cases really are awesome. Check out the site for yourself, and see if your device is covered.

~Meghan

Who doesn’t love some Taylor Swift?

Well, lots of people. I know.

But Will and I are both fans. Here’s an old(ish) video from my phone:

Tomorrow is Friday. I think Will and I might have to celebrate with another T-Swizzle dance party.

~Meghan

Natural light is probably my favorite tool in taking photos. It gives the best look to a photograph, in my opinion. And it can’t be replicated by a flash or an editing program, at least, not by me.

Last night, Tom and I dropped off a meal for some friends in our small group who just had a baby. And I do mean just. Raegan is four days old, and they had come home from the hospital the night before. I was itching to take a picture of that teeny baby girl. And the sun was gone.

So instead of worrying about getting a really good shot, I took a few and mainly just held her.

I marveled at such long fingernails on such tiny fingers. And at how her hair was so blonde, it was practically translucent.  And at how she had that precious “newborn smell.” And how she was the tiniest baby I had ever held at under her birth weight of 6lbs, 3 0z.  It was like holding a doll.

(Tara and Raegan)

And I admired how Tara, after hours and hours of labor, followed by nights of little sleep and days of pure exhaustion, was smiling and glowing and generally looking great. And how Chris, who was also worn out, was happily discussing work outs with Tom.

I had turned into a broken record, because all I could say was “sweet” and “precious” about 3,000 times. I can’t wait to see this tiny baby grow into someone with a personality all her own as Chris and Tara dive into parenthood. It’s so neat to be in a small group with couples that are starting a new journey in life.

And I really can’t wait to get back over there sometime when the sun is out.

~Meghan

Tom and I have been using a TV tray- yes, a TV tray- to hold our Tivo, our DVD player, and our Wii.

We put a tablecloth on it just to make it a tiny bit less obvious, but the fact that it was too small, and we needed something more proportional, was obvious. I took pictures of it, but they have suddenly just disappeared off of my camera. I have no idea where they went.

So I looked all the way back to Fall 2009. And I found a picture of when we first got our television mounted and had shoved all that stuff on a tv tray. Before the tablecloth tried to hide the tray and the wires.

I think it’s pretty evident why this wasn’t working.

So when we saw this at the antique market, we quickly fell in love with it.

This pretty piece is from Tianjin, China, circa 1870. It was the right height and size for what we were looking for in our living room, and it looked like it had enough character to add interest to that area of the room.

So we bought it. It was several hundred dollars less than we would have paid to a place like Pottery Barn for something new. (I use the example of PB because I love that store, not to pick on it.)

Here it is in our house:

It has some of our favorite books on it- the Bible, The Hunger Games, Harry Potter, and Lord of The Rings. It also has the camera that was my grandfather’s and the camera that used to belong to my father-in-law. They are two of my most prized possessions, so I thought they should be on display.

Our living room has changed a bit from when we first moved in. Thank goodness.

First moved in:

Now:

Next stop…curtains? New lighting fixtures? Hmm…

~Meghan

I meant to do this post on Friday, but since my computer is falling to pieces, it doesn’t read my SD card. And since I used my point and shoot (whose cord I have lost), I had to wait until I could get Tom to help me out with his computer. Turns out our new printer could have let me access it all that time. Oh well.

Anyway, a few weekends ago, Tom and I went to Scott’s Antique Market in Atlanta. Wow. It’s huge.

It’s basically tons of different antiques dealers with everything from books to furniture to lighting fixtures. Pretty much anything you could want to look for in an antique store, you will find here…times 50. You aren’t short on selection. They come from all over the country, and I was pleased at how really nice they all were without being pushy about their products.

Scott’s is only open on the second weekend of every month. It costs $5 a person to get in Friday through Sunday, but once you pay, your pass is good for the rest of the weekend. You can also pay a little more to get in on Thursdays, one of the dealers told me. That pass is also good for the whole weekend.

Here are some pictures of just a very few of some of my favorite things that I saw there. I am definitely going to have to go back when I have the cash to get some of these things.

Love the style of this table. I feel like I could make one similar to it myself:

I am flipping obsessed with these restored pieces from postal services and old offices. Love them!

These ceiling and wall pieces taken from old buildings and hand-painted by the sellers just made my heart go pitter-patter. There were a lot of them, but this was probably my favorite:

And this old crib was so sweet. I thought it would look awesome in a nursery.

Tom and I didn’t buy any of those things though. We did get something for our living room, and we LOVE it. But I’ll show you that tomorrow!

If you want to go to Scott’s, be sure to bring plenty of cash or your check book, a camera for items you don’t want to forget but can’t get right away, and some way to transport your goods home with you! (Tom and I didn’t plan well for this and ended up getting some help from some of our awesome friends Justin and Jenn, who own a truck. Thanks y’all!)

Scott’s is located at:

Atlanta Expo Center

3650 and 3850 Jonesboro Rd,

Atlanta, GA 30354

Don’t forget, they are only open the second weekend of every month. But you can get the dealers’ information if you want to get in touch with them in between shows.

Happy hunting!

~Meghan

Yesterday I came to the realization that Asher has a future career as a rockstar.

Not only did he play both his guitars for me, but he drummed on EVERYTHING.

The “Bucket O’ Soldiers.”

The blanket with the remote controls.

The djembe. And the books Audrey checked out from the library.

Then we took a break for lunch outside in the warm sunshine.

And then it was back inside for a bit more percussion before naptime.

One-year-olds can rock out, y’all.

~Meghan

This month the sky has been ablaze with gorgeous colors at the sunset hour. I only wish that it took longer for the sun to sink. Nevertheless, Tom and I walked up to the road outside our neighborhood last night so that I could play with the light for a few minutes.

I was originally going to do something like this for my Valentine’s Day post. I’m always running a little late.

Tom’s really great about being my subject/assistant/pack mule/whatever I need when it comes to taking pictures. He even jumped in and took some of me.

And then I started to get the “I’m in front of the camera, so let me make a total fool of myself for all the people walking and driving by” thing that happens to some of us. And I started being goofy.

And then I decided I would do a pose that was inspired by Michael, a friend from Tom’s college days at Georgia Tech. He was always doing this in photos. (And, yes, Michael, I made the face, even though you can’t see it.)

And here are a couple more. Oh the difference mascara makes between a girl and a boy. (Though Tom does have some pretty great eyelashes.)

Boy:

Girl:

I love sunsets.

~Meghan

Tom and I recently watched The Social Network. It had my brain going on lots of different directions, but one I personally wanted to address was the way that sororities were portrayed.

Movie Sororities:

I certainly can’t speak for how honestly the sorority that was a part of the movie was portrayed, but I know that it and pretty much any sorority I have seen in tv shows or movies is always shown in one of two ways:

1. Wild Party Houses. These are the ones that look like all the girls love to make out with each other, throw crazy co-ed parties where the girls run around half-naked and have jello wrestling matches, get wasted, and get high.

2. A Private Dream House. These are the ones where there are so few girls in the sorority that they all get their own bedrooms, which are spacious enough to have big beds and everything just how they want. Generally there are 20-50 girls in the sorority.

Neither of those is a reality for any Panhellenic sorority I’ve ever seen. Maybe some fraternities. (I didn’t really spend much time in fraternity houses, so I wouldn’t know.) But not sororities.

I think that if I had not been in a sorority and was judging solely on what I “knew” about them from the negative press I see (which is often-and unfairly-the only press Greeks get) and on how they are portrayed in movies and tv shows, I would never let my daughter rush for Sorority life. (Rush is what the several days of meeting, and ranking of and by sororities is called when sororities and future “sisters” find out where they would best fit with each other.)

But having gone through it, and having been a fairly level-headed participant through all four years of college, I can honestly give it a high recommendation, and wanted to set the record straight.

Real Sororities:

*At least at UGA, where I attended college, there were beautiful houses, but the girls almost all shared rooms. In my sorority, there were about…on average, 200 girls per year. Only so many of the girls could live in the house at a time, usually one or two pledge classes at the most (plus all the executive members of the sorority for that year) at a time for the majority of the sororities.

In many sororities, the girls had dorm like rooms. In the few houses where they lived in the original house instead of an addition, they had bigger rooms with more roommates. All roommates would agree on the decor (paint, etc.) before moving in and do the work themselves to get the room they would share how they liked it before rush began.

*There is a “House Mother” in every single house. She has her own room and bathroom, and she is paid to live there. She enforces the rules of the house and makes sure that girls are safe in the house. She doesn’t attend chapter meetings, but she does live in the house.

Definitely a hit or miss here- you might get a crazy sasquatch of a house mom (speaking from experience)- but usually, the house moms are fine and are only concerned with fulfilling their duties, not getting all up in the girls’ business.

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*Boys are not allowed in certain parts of the house, and they are only allowed during certain hours. I didn’t live in our sorority house (I had no interest in having 4 roommates in my actual bedroom, even though I loved my sorority sisters). But guys did come over to the house, and I’m pretty sure that they had to be gone by around 10 or 11 at night. They also weren’t allowed up in the bedrooms.

*No alcohol or drugs are allowed on the property. I’m sure some girls sneak alcohol in, but if something were to happen, like our house burn down, and they found even one empty beer bottle, the insurance company could deny our claim. So, those kegger parties you see on tv? Not at a sorority house.

Sororities even get penalized if a picture with a solo cup or any alcohol visible in it is out during rush. You will often see stickers covering up various parts of pictures from date nights or socials during rush, even though the sister in the picture might be legal to drink or not even have been the one with alcohol in the picture.

*Sororities are HUGELY involved in philanthropic events. Most host a huge philanthropy each semester, and they also participate in tons of the various philanthropies hosted across campus by various other charities and Greek organizations. (Below are pictures from Gamma Phi’s annual Chili Cook Off, our fall semester philanthropy.)

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I wish I knew how many thousands of dollars were raised in just the four years I was involved. With 200 girls in the sorority working each of our own events plus all of us being involved in one or more other philanthropies, I can’t even imagine how much each pledge class had raised by the time they graduated.

*Good grades are important. I maybe met one or two girls in college who didn’t seem to take classes seriously. And guess what? They didn’t stay sisters. Sororities aren’t just pretty faces pasted on empty heads. These girls are held to a high standard.

When you pledge a sorority, you give up the right to keep your GPA private.There is an officer in the sorority whose goal is to make sure we keep our grades up, and if your GPA dips below what is deemed “acceptable,” you get put on academic probation.

I know this because it happened to me after my first semester, freshman year. Oops.

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I wasn’t out partying or drinking, but I was in a major that held no interest for me, and in classes that were my weak points. I also had been able to make A’s in high school AP classes with much less effort than was required for a college student, so I had to change my perception of studying. I was so mortified when I went home for Christmas break at how poorly I had done.

I decided to switch into a major that I found more interesting, and I signed up for core classes that most of my freshman classmates had been smart enough to take the previous semester, as they eased into college life.

But that meant that my Greek life was put on pause. In order to be sure I was focusing on school first and foremost, I was not allowed to run for any office, and I could only participate in philanthropies, practices (I was in our competition a capella group) and competitions, one social, and our formal for the entire spring semester. My GPA was then reviewed (I had pulled off a 3.9 or something for the second semester), and when it was averaged with my previous semester’s GPA, it was enough to put me back into good academic standing. The probation was over.

I tell you this not to embarrass myself but to make a point that Greeks know that they are primarily at school for school. Not for social activities. And it is their goal to be sure that their members are well-rounded students, not well-rounded party-goers.

*Now, that said, social activities are what draw most girls to sororities. It’s what drew me. You get into a big school where you know few people and in a sorority find a huge group of girls with which to identify yourself. No, you won’t be close to everyone. Yes, this is a very mixed group of girls from all over the country with different morals, faiths, political affiliations, and opinions.

But something about them is similar enough that they end up in the same group, and they become sisters. There are also lots of fun events that the sororities will participate in over each year. Semi-formals, formals, themed socials (also known as mixers), date nights, mother/daughter teas, daddy/daughter game dates, parent weekends, etc. It’s just fun to be a part of it all!

Personally, I didn’t do a ton of socials after freshman year. I had guy friends at UGA, but I wasn’t really interested in just going to socials to mix with guys from the fraternities because I was dating Tom and not looking to date anyone else. I went my freshman year because I didn’t want to look like a stick-in-the-mud. After that, I felt comfortable enough to skip them and not worry what anyone thought.

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The reality? In the end, I know that if my daughter goes Greek, she will be held accountable as a student by her peers, learn the value of working hard so that those less fortunate can benefit, be able to socialize with people from all walks of life, and make friends with people that will start out as strangers and end up as her best friends and maybe even her bridesmaids. I know that’s what it did for me.

These girls represent about a third of my bridesmaids, and each of these four gorgeous ladies I met because I went Greek. Love them!

Just thought it was time someone stood up for the classy sorority ladies out there. I truly believe that they represent the majority in the Greek system!

~Meghan

Last year, we were dealing with a snowy Vday, and I started my “cookies when it snows” tradition.

They were made with store-bought dough and were overcooked and sloppy.

And delicious.

This year, Tom and I are going to be doing small group with these awesome peeps:

And later this week we’ll have a yummy dinner, as a gift from my parents. So sweet!

Don’t forget these tips to help your Valentine’s Day go smoothly. What are your plans for today?

Whether you celebrate Valentine’s Day or not, know that I love and appreciate all of my readers! Thanks for taking the time to read my blog!

Xoxo,

Meghan

If every county (or city, even) could have a few outdoor things of my choosing, they would be:

1. A Greenway

2. A Dog Park (with separate sections for big versus little dogs)

3. A Great Playground (or a few of them)

4. A Big Lawn (to host concerts, free movie nights, and festivals for the city)

5. A Recreation Center (sports fields, pools, and perhaps #s 2 and 3 as well)

I am so very happy that I live in a city with a greenway and a big lawn (Suwanee’s town center has a huge lawn as well as fountains kids can play in) and that I live in a county with a big rec center (that, yes, also has a playground and dog parks) as well as multiple parks, dog parks, and playgrounds for public use.

The city I grew up in, Covington, didn’t have all or even most of that. Of course, people own a lot more land in general out there, so they don’t necessarily need all of that. But I still wish that they had a greenway.

A “Greenway” is  described as “a belt of parks or rural land surrounding a town or city.” There is a paved path that connects all of the parks and land, and people can use it to walk, run, bike, exercise dogs, etc.

I’d never even heard of anything like that until I was married and living in Alpharetta. There was a greenway there that I could walk to from our apartment. Tom and I learned very quickly how great it was to be so close to the greenway when we needed to exercise two terriers that lived in an apartment all day.

So, when we moved to Suwanee, I was just as happy to find that there is a greenway here as well. Tom and I have gone on a few walks with Will on the greenway and many walks with our dogs. Hot or cold out, it’s a great place to walk.

The Suwanee Greenway is 9.5 miles (not that you have to do all of it), some built over wetlands, and all of it going through trees with small fields visible (usually in one of the parks) or some spots where you walk beside the road for a few yards before going back onto a tree-lined path. There are a few different areas with water fountains and bathrooms, but I would suggest you bring your own water bottles for hot days or long walks.

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The disadvantage of going over wetlands and beside rivers is that when it rains, water and mud get all over certain parts of the path. (They have since fixed this problem.)

And the drainage isn’t fabulous, so you will find mosquitoes (and tadpoles) in abundance in warmer months, so be sure to spray on your bug repellent and make sure your dogs have Frontline or some other protection.

But when the weather is nice, the water supports a plethora of gorgeous flora and even fauna. Tom has seen snakes a few times, which is to be expected in the woods by a river. There are also lizards and plenty of deer, squirrels, and birds.

In the fall, it’s so pretty when the leaves change colors (and nice when the weather cools off). Come winter, everything is brown and bare. But that doesn’t keep us from using it!

I sometimes wonder if more people wouldn’t be likely to exercise if places like this were available to them. I wish that we had had a greenway available where we grew up.

I would have loved collecting tadpoles there and looking for other animals as a kid, riding my bike and playing with friends. As a teenager, I could have used it to walk our dog or to work out with my friends. As an adult, I would love to have a place to go on a walk when Tom and I visit family.

If you live in Alpharetta, Suwanee, or any other city that has a greenway, I highly recommend checking it out! If you are a mom or someone who takes care of small children for a living, like me, it’s really nice to take a walk somewhere other than the neighborhood you are in all the time.

I hope you try it out and enjoy it as much as I do!

~Meghan