A little shop talk

I'm a shopkeeper who loves to shop and who tries to balance sarcasm with sweetness. I love my golden retrievers, big glasses of chilled wine after a long day and being on or near the water. I live for adventures to favorite haunts, discovering new places/things and eating/drinking my way through it all. (Always on the hunt for THE perfect margarita and nachos.)

[meredithisaleo]

Today

- I talked to some of my closest friends and realized how lucky I am to have so many special people in my life. - I was a complete an total mess. It's nothing big but I'm grateful that Drummer Boy understood how upset I was. It meant a lot that he was waiting on the front lawn so he could hold me as soon as I got home. - My Dad made a special trip to the special post office to mail our save the dates on the 46th anniversary of giving my Mom her engagement ring. - I'm grateful, feel loved, happy and want to always remember that feeling.

[meredithisaleo]

Best wishes?

Email I just received: "I can tell you we will save Oct. 7th and be sure to be there. It will surely be a fun time. I will even keep it to a minimum how much I recommend against marriage. I have an ever increasing list of why marriages just don’t work but this I am sure will not be the case for you and Keith and if things don’t work out at least you will have the benefit of knowing you will be an important exemplar in my study. :-)"

[meredithisaleo]

Life is full of

- work stress - holiday lights and glitter - anxiety - fabulous friends who feel like family - crazy people who can't drive in the rain - love for my family, friends and fiancé - thoughts of the future - coughing and tissues (my parents and I are all sick) - random feelings of loss (family and faded friendships) - lists

[meredithisaleo]

PSA - My new fall staple. So easy and sooooo good (it did take a lot longer for mine to bake).

[meredithisaleo]

This has been a full week - full of activity, full of emotion and full of family. It's been a weird blend of old and new, my parents and drummer boy. It's exhausting and has been totally bizarre. The four of us have been together (always a sticky situation) a record amount of time because of our calendar. Wednesday - heard Doris Kearns Goodwin speak at my alma mater. Drummer Boy and I have been reading and listening to her books and we all have been looking forward to hearing her in regards to the election. Thursday - eye dr, hair dresser, and a loonnnngggg dramatic family dinner in lieu of a viewing. Friday - funeral to say goodbye to the last of the old generation. My "gentleman caller" aka drummer boy and I never got to tell her our happy news in person and I tried not to be too bitter about some family bs. Friday Evening - Garrison Keillor from Prairie Home Companion. I had no idea what to expect and it was fantastic. Two hours to escape and laugh was wonderful. Saturday- a bizarre morning of doing my favorite family Saturday morning rituals.....with my parents AND drummer boy. Saturday Evening - A medley of Broadway stars and songs for a wonderful charity. Because of the schedule, I was crashing at my parents but Drummer Boy was driving up and back and up and back. After two days of it, it was decided he'd pack up stuff for me, for him and his dogs and come stay at my parents.....in the guest room. I get their rules but honestly it's more strategy, and it's shitty. I'm constantly on edge and poor Drummer Boy is trying so hard and must be as well. He's being so careful not to offend, to not intrude and not trigger something.

[meredithisaleo]

Bad news and bad days are made brighter by drummer boy. Flowers and candy are awesome, but the best part is that he's cleaning the trash from the parking lot and clearing the cricket traps in the store.

[meredithisaleo]

Drummer boy was tasked with making a bow for my parent's anniversary gift. He nailed it!!!! Please remind me of his "awesomeness" next time I want to murder him because he loads the dishwasher like an idiot.

[meredithisaleo]

While fighting with Drummer Boy

Drummer Boy (in a calm voice) "I honestly think you may be crazy, and I still love you." - Meredith - laughing..

[meredithisaleo]

Our version of romance is cheese, chocolate, pumping up the AC and lighting a fire on an insanely hot August day.

[meredithisaleo]

Last night, I made Drummer Boy's dream of a playmate come true. He loves video games, board games, card games, etc. I usually could care less. Our evening plans for dinner (yaayyyy Mexican) and a trip to Walmart (shudder....I HATE that place) took on a whole new life. We should have been gone for an hour, hour and a half tops. Instead, we were wandering around Walmart until 11 with a freakish amount of other people finding a ton of creatures. (Proves my belief of how scary that place is! Tons of monsters!!! Is that what we call them?). Then the drive home that should have been 15 min took over an hour so we could get more points and to find a gym. I was driving so I could have cut this fun short but nope, I'm fully addicted!

[meredithisaleo]

I may or may not have flipped out at Drummer Boy for putting things in the wrong place despite spending 80% of his time at my house. I ranted that when he moved in there would be no more excuses. Tonight is the first night we're officially living together. I was looking at his photos on his phone and ran across this one. I asked him what it was. His response: "I took a photo so I could get it right. Don't look. That's embarrassing." Ladies and gentlemen, please remind me to stop being a petty bitch. I have a guy who does everything he can to make me happy, truly happy. I need to stop letting petty crap, life stress and bullshit be reasons I get annoyed with him. It will be even more important when our separate cooling off corners are in the same house.

[meredithisaleo]

It's not even the 4th of July and Target has a full back to school display right at the front door! I hate them. Stop rushing my summer you bastards! I mean I guess I'm going to go buy my Starbucks and shop, but I'll do it while pissed. So there Target! But seriously, slow your roll Target gods!

[meredithisaleo]

I miss this space. I miss making new "friends" here. I miss being able to look back and remember a certain day or thing (good or bad) because I posted about it here. I need to start making time for things I've dropped: reading, posting, working out, etc. I'm not sure where the motivation went or how to get it back. Any ideas??? For now here are some of the dumb thoughts popping around like pinballs in my brain. I'm all over the board these days....from as shallow as a puddle to deep soul searching. - College BFF and her husband are coming for the weekend. She's pregnant and I know that means she probably isn't eating everything. Where do I find a real list of no-no pregnancy food so I don't serve the wrong thing? - Why can't I be one of those women who wear linen? Why do I always look like I slept in it even if I take the time to iron? - Where is all of Drummer Boy's stuff going to go? Why am I obsessed with making my house EXACTLY the way I want it this weekend when all that crap changes with his move-in next week (aka Drum Set in my bedroom) - Is it really possible that the new roof we put on the store is the reason that my cell reception now sucks at work? - Will I ever feel comfortable planning my wedding if I'm not sure an annulment (in the Catholic Church) will actually happen for drummer boy? (Does ANYONE have real experience with this?) - Has anyone done the 21 day fix and thought it was worth it or will I hate life during and just pig out after? Basically, my thoughts are all questions with no answers these days. Do you have any helpful answers or guidance?

[meredithisaleo]

I love my guy. I really, really, really do. He's sick today. He's feeling truly crappy. I love him. I'll gladly get him anything in the world that will make him feel better. I'll turn the fan on. I'll turn the fan off. I'll turn the fan on.....again, gladly. I'll change the sheets so they are nice and crisp and he feels snuggled and loved. I'll do his wash so it's done properly (aka stains are actually removed before items are put back in the closet). I'll go to the store to buy bread for toast, apple sauce, soup and anything else that may eventually tempt him to eat. I'll drive an hour to get his laptop from the office. I'll drive an hour back stopping to get him meds. I've done this and more. What I'm going to do next is smother him with one of those freshly laundered pillows if I hear the beeping of his thermometer one more time.....99.7 and 100.2. I honestly don't know why but those beeps and dramatic sighs are driving me over the edge. I can laugh off and eye roll away most of his hypochondriac tendencies but this is my limit. 100.2, 100.7 & 99.6

[meredithisaleo]

Today I spent the golden hour with my guy and my golden. We're all healing in our own way - Charlie from surgery, drummer boy and me from life's bumps and bruises.

[meredithisaleo]

I'm in love with a boy who has a knack for making me happy. Cheese plates = love

[meredithisaleo]

True story Tuesday: I drank most of a bottle of rosé last Friday while watching Say Yes To The Dress. Martha Stewart was featured in one episode on the pretext of helping one of her publishing assistants to pick her dress (aka peddling her wedding book). I vaguely remember Drummer Boy joking about buying the book for me. Today I was opening a stack of boxes from an Amazon Prime one-click marathon, and look what was mixed in with tons of baby gifts!!! I totally don't remember ordering it but I clearly did.