Sports

Now I like sports. Lets keep this in mind.

I played;
Softball for 12+ years.
Water Polo for 5.
Soccer for 4 (or more.. not so sure..)
Basketball for 2.
Swam for 2.
Dove for 1.

and was in dance and a Broadway- type group singing group.

So I'm no stranger to sports and I enjoy them... however...

I do not want to watch Baseball every night of my life. Or Football.. every once in a while I do enjoy watching a GOOD sporting event. If the Angels are on or the Packers and it's a good game. The world series, the superbowl. But COME ON! I don't want to watch some lame "Angels Live" show with a whole bunch of old angels and cheesy music.

My dad and brother are just remote nazi's these days. I swear it wasn't this bad before but for some reason recently they feel the need to flex their masculinity and dominate the TV with game after game after game... Come ON! Let me watch my cheesy reality shows and night time soaps. I just want to unwind at the end of a long long day at work where everyone is stressed out and crazy.

Oh. The best part of this whole thing is that my dad can be sitting in his little chair either falling asleep, listening to his book on CD or reading the bible and if I try to change the channel look up all surprised and angry and yell "HEY! I was watching that!!"

come on dad.

<3

Ps. So there was one hilarious thing on "angels live" One of the old timers was trying to do an "Angels chant" which went something like this.

Give me an A!
Give me an N!
Give me a G!
Give me an L!
give me and S!

what's that spell??

my brother looks at me and goes... Angles?

haha

BIRTHDAY!

So today's the big day. It's weird having it on a Sunday only because it's kind of messing up the flow of things... I'm so tired right now because I was up until 515am... talking to an old friend and having a great time, but that doesn't help the fact that I only slept for three hours.. so I'm pretty sure my birthday is going to be spent napping or going to bed unceremoniously early. Oh well. at least I'm getting Olive Garden delivered instead of dragging myself (literally) out to the restaurant! Last night had it's ups and downs but generally ended on a good note.. I am so thankful for the friends I have and the life I have, but I still feel like a six year old who gets really upset when she's not the center of attention.. although it IS my birthday and I DEMAND that you pay attention to me on this day. haha. jk. sort of.

I will have a few pictures once we figure out what's wrong with my parents computer! I really hate that my computer is broken. That's honestly why I can't blog as much as I'd like because I have to use other peoples computers! I miss my beast!

I'm so thirsty. Damn alcohol for drying out your system! I'm going to put my head under a faucet and then take a nap.

<3

PS. I'm pretty sure I don't make any sense right now. Please hold for a more coherent post at a later date.

LATE!

I work in Santa Ana which is about 20 miles from my house.
I start work at 7am.
Normal days I wake up at 530am.
I leave at 6-610.
I get to work at 645-655.
I woke up at 639am today.

OOPS :)

but at this point I don't want to rush off to work. That always makes for a bad day. Besides. I had to check all of my "e-vites" from yesterday on my various sites. And somehow the actual e-vite I made never got sent. Le-lame.. Well I guess this is a good place to say... HEY! If you want to come to my b-day celebration It's next Saturday night at 7pm at mi casa. If you don't know where that is e-mail me for directions megara.liz009@gmail.com and I'll send em to you.

I think I'm gonna need some coffee for this morning. Even though I got the extra sleep (oops!) I'm tired and caffeine deprived :)

hopefully it's a good monday!

<3

**long weeks**

These last few weeks have been long ones. Work's been crazy. Being mommy has been crazy and finances have been limited and frustrating.

Pre-school is going really well for Hailey. She loves it SO much and is really blossoming and learning so much. We're attempting right now to go through her toys and weed out the ones she doesn't play with in preparation for her birthday and the mass amount of crap I'm sure she'll get. *grin*

I had a great Saturday and was "kidnapped" by two of my best friends who took me to the Getty Villa in Malibu, then made me dinner and surprised me with a few good friends I haven't seen in forever. It was overall a great day and just fun to hang out with good people I haven't seen in a long time.

I'm still trying to "plan" a birthday party for myself however I have a feeling I'm just going to be like. Hey. Come over on Saturday and hang. I'll have some Alcohol, bring some more and we'll just have a good time. I'm going to attempt to plan more, but eh. As long as I'm surrounded by good friends I'm good.

Anyway. On to trying to convince an almost four year old to part with toys she never plays with.. It's going to be a long night.

<3

Uggh

yeah. With two g's. I hate being broke. I hate being tired and I REALLY hate when I'm tired, I know I have to go to work tomorrow and I STILL can't sleep.

BALLS.

<3

First Day

Today was the first day for her... All of us have taken pictures in front of the bricks in our front yard for every school year since I started school. My mom made little "watch me grow" boards for our graduations and I guess we've decided to continue the tradition with Hailey..

Today was bittersweet. I am really excited that she's starting pre-k but it's also scary because I've got to decide a lot this next year.. I need to decide if she's ready for kindergarten next year or if I should keep her out for one more year until she's almost six. She'll be in the exact boat I was in when I started school.. I was always younger than my classmates and would turn the age most of them already were in the first few weeks of school. Her birthday is a week after mine so it will be my schooling all over again. My mom says sometimes she regrets not putting me in school later and is almost pushing me to keep her out.. the rebel in me wants to put her in just to spite her, but I know that's not what I'll do. She's not the only one that's told me an extra year is good for them, but I honestly don't know if I would be holding her back. She's such a smart kid and picks up on things so fast I KNOW she'd do great.. if I keep her back would I hold her back? I guess all I can do is see how she takes to pre-k, talk to her teacher at the end of the year and decide then.. but I am going to take all the steps to ensure that it's something I decide.

My Grandpa's doing well.. he's recovering at St Jude from his surgery yesterday, which was scary to me. I love my grandpa so so much and to see him so frail and needy is a little scary since he's always been so tough.. but I guess if I look at it in a different light I can say he's just as tough since he's been through so much in the last few years.. My Grandparents have been amazing in these last few years with Hailey. They love her so much and she loves them. They're so adorable with each other and I'm glad she's getting to know them. I can't even explain how much I appreciate what they do for us on a daily basis..

Gotta go take care of some stuff. She's going to spend the night at Grandma's tonight :)

<3

I HATE this...

Patients was never a virtue I had.

I've already had a super shitty morning.

Hailey decided to eat half a container of sprinkles.

I can't get my cell phone until Friday now because Verizon and my bank are STUPID..

and I should be getting her ready for school but I have no desire to.

I hate being me sometimes.

<3

Home

So I've never been the most organized person in the world, but I'd like to think I'm not a total slob. I mean, My room is organized chaos. If I need something I usually know the general area of it. I am always fighting myself on the clothes front, constantly getting rid of clothes or hanging on to sentimental things. I'm a borderline pack rat, but I like to keep mementos. Like movie theater tickets and old letters and cards..

A VERY recent conversation with a some good friends reminded me of how much I love my house. Not because of it's location. Not because I've lived here my entire life *minus the two years I lived in the dorms.. which so don't count as moving...* but because of my family and the way we live in a home. I had a friend who lived across the street from me growing up and her mom was a total and complete neat FREAK. Nothing could be out of place and she would find a CRUMB on the carpet and freak out and yell until someone fessed up to it.. she used to love coming over to my house because it was (and is) "lived in" We don't have a formal living room full of furniture that nobody sits on, we don't have a dinning room table that's in pristine condition, we've got couches that are loved, carpet with wear and dishes and laundry. I like to think that instead of spending all our time cleaning and worrying about how everything needs to be in it's place, we spend time laughing and talking and playing with my daughter or our dog.

I know some people might scoff and think that our house is "gross" or whatever. But to me it's home. It's not like we've got science experiment food sitting out. We just find it more important to spend the few hours on a Saturday making memories and having fun rather than polishing furniture we don't use.

*grin*

<3

**defining moments**

A Meme. from George

So here are the instructions:

Tell the world what you believe are the 10 Defining Moments of your Generation - and then tell the world what you believe are YOUR personal 10 Defining Moments. Then tell the world why you chose the moments you did.

The 10 Defining Moments of My Generation (In No Particular Order)

1. MTV- It's hard to say, but I don't think my generation would be who we are without music videos.. and MTV & VH1 really started the music television revolution. Now there are tons of channels with TONS of different genre's of videos.

2. TGIF- I remember sitting down with my family on Friday nights and being SO excited to watch the latest episodes of Full House, Mr Belvedere and if I was lucky Step by Step or Family Matters.. and I remember going to school on Monday, and talking about the episodes with everyone who actually got to see it. No Tivo to record, you had to figure out the VCR timer if you wanted to tape it and if you missed it you missed it..

3. Columbine- I remember how scary that was for me. Hearing about all the kids that were shot, hearing all the news stories on what happened, watching all the interviews and hearing the intimate details of what happened. I younger and a whole lot of naive, but I remember that was my wake up call that bad things can still happen, even in our modern times. I also remember the chain of threats and panic that swept the schools, ours included. We had a prayer chain around our senior park, and everyone in our school was united.. we wouldn't be scared away from our education.

4. September 11th - Another of those events that really rocked my world. I remember the panic that ensued after. I remember going to school and talking with friends who's parents were keeping their kids home. I remember watching the news all day in every single class and sitting with the very few kids that were still at school and talking to my teachers about what happened and everyone being in general shock.

5. Gas Prices- It's sad to say it but this is a defining moment in our generation because never in a million years did economists dream that gas prices could reach the prices they are at now. I distinctly remember my high school Econ teacher (Mr Thompson) telling us gas prices would hit a ceiling of four dollars, but they would surely never rise about that.. We've reached almost 5 dollars a gallon.. which severely effects everything from vacation to day to day living. SO many Californian's can't afford to drive to work and can't rely on our public transportation, which in some of the most populated areas is REALLY lacking.

6. Computers- Not just the Internet, not just PDA's or hand-helds or laptops, but even just a desktop. I'm amazed at how they've affected the way things are done in this generation. So many things are "paperless" and "web-based" that the need for so many inventions of the past are obsolete. A lot of jobs were lost to computers and so many people make their careers in computers, which was unheard of in past generations.

7. Going Green- So many Americans are joining the fight against global warming, and I've really seen the number of people in my generation who are genuinely interested in helping and recycling and taking notice of the problem increase.. not only a select few who in past generations would have been type-cast as weird or activist. Everyone is playing their part.

8. Downloading/ iPods- More and more technology are making amazing products of the past obsolete or "vintage" and I have a feeling actual CD's and even DVD's are fast becoming part of the record or 8-track type technology, cool to remember, cool to collect but not really practical. I mean, I'm amazed at how much is available for download. Stuff that you could previously find only in stores, I could most likley pirate or download from iTunes or Apple.com

9. Vote or Die- To me one of the biggest defining moments. I mean, it not only showed how important our votes are and how much of our generation wasn't a part of the political process, it showed us how much of an influence and how important celebrities are to our generation.. which leads me to my 10th...

10. Heath Ledger's Death- I was amazed and in shock when he died. I know there have been other deaths in my lifetime of amazing people like George Carlin and LeRoi Moore, but for some reason the death of Heath Ledger really hit my generation, and will go down as a big moment for a lot of us.

And now Mine. (in no order whatsoever)

1. TEC (Teens Encounter Christ)- I was 16 years old and had never experienced anything like it. It opened my eyes to so much and although it's been a constant struggle ever since, it's been an experience like no other and introduced me to some of my best friends and a community of people unlike any I've ever met, along with VDC.

2. My dad's heart attacks- I realized that I had to grow up and stop living in my little bubble if I wanted to to be treated like an adult. I also saw how my family protected me, more often than not, from the bad things in our lives because they didn't think I could handle it. It opened my eyes and showed me what an amazing family, extended and blood, I actually have, it also made my immediate family a whole lot closer.

3. My 22 birthday in SF- It was the BIGGEST deal to me. It was the first birthday EVER that I hadn't been with my family. I didn't go to dinner with them on my birthday, and it was the first time I went on such a long trip with just one other friend. I spent the weekend exploring the city and really growing up. It was only two years ago, but it was such a big moment for me.

4. St Andrew's Lutheran Church- Going to this church really changed not only my life, but my families. We had struggled with leaving Emanuel, mostly for my benefit and when I went away to college and CCOL, my family spent a lot of time searching for a new church home, and boy did they find it. Some of our best friends and closest relationships are with that church family. We've grown as a family and been able to share so much with the congregation and them sharing so much with us, but my real personal defining moment was when I joined the rejoice band. My family had all found their friends in the church and I was a little lost when I moved home.. but as soon as I joined the rejoice band I met George who introduced me to so many amazing people including his family and amazing friends, who have all accepted me and shown me more love than I can imagine.

5. Getting Pregnant- Not the actual birth of my daughter, but the absolute personal struggle I went through when I found out, when I told a few people, when I decided what to do and when I finally told my friends and family. It was an incredibly humbling and scary and stressful situation. A really low point in my life.. which is sad because my daughter is such a blessing, but while I was pregnant I was ready to lose everything. I distinctly remember sitting on the bed in my dorm about to call my parents and tell them everything and being mentally ready for them to disown me. Scary to think what I would have lost.

6. The birth and life of Hailey Rose- An amazing transformation for me. I was no longer Meghan, but Mommy. I am still Meghan but now the mommy that comes with it just amazes me. She keeps me grounded, makes me want to be a better person and is bringing out at side of me I never knew I had. It's been a struggle, it's been hard, and I know it will continue to be hard, but every time I see her I can't help but smile.. even when she's peeling the paint off my walls (yes. she did that today)

7. The death of Cody (my dog)- Now I know it seems silly, but he was the absolute definition of my childhood. He was my dog for as long as I can remember. He protected me, he slept in my bed or next to it, he was always right there when I left and when I got back. He played with me, traveled with me and even broke out of our backyard and was found wandering the halls of our high school because he missed me! He died right before Hailey was born, and it really marked, for me, the ending of my childhood..

8. My first car- It wasn't my license that made me mobile, because when I got my license it was more of an "I should really do this before I graduate" rather than an "I need my license" I had friends who drove, older siblings and my parents (as a last resort of course) but I also lived in a pretty small town where I could walk or take the bus if I needed to, but when I went to college my freshman year and lived in a much larger city and realized I couldn't walk or roller blade anymore, it was time to get my act together and get a car. And boy did I. My "time-warp machine" a 96 Cherry red mustang. I still remember my parents surprising me with it at the dorms. They told me I was getting a red Kia, and my brother drives up in this mustang. I had no idea what to say and for weeks would walk out and wonder why I had keys to this red mustang.

9. Going to a University (CSUB), and living in the dorms- I can't believe how much I took for granted at first with how huge of a moment that freedom was for me. In hindsight I went a little crazy with the freedom, but for the most part It was just an absolutely amazing experience for me. It was the first time in my entire 17 years that I'd lived anywhere but my little house in La Habra and it was absolutely invigorating and terrifying. I still remember my first night in my dorm and how absolutely excited I was to be living somewhere on my own and not having to answer to anyone but myself. But with great freedom comes great responsibility and finding the balance between fun and class and bills got really hard for me, luckily I met Angel and Chris, who kept me on track and showed me how to live a successful dorm life, while still having tons of fun :)

10. Moving Home- After being out on my own for even those two years, I realized how much freedom and perks of having my own place I had taken for granted, the thought of moving back in with parents is never a pleasant one at almost 20, but I honestly could not have survived without their support. Or the support of my extended famiy, new and old friends. It was hard. REALLY hard for me to leave Bakersfield and the friends and family I have there, but I have found a balance and as much as I miss every single one of my friends there, I don't regret moving home one bit.

Geez. This was REALLY hard.. but like I said. I don't regret any of these defining moments or look back and wish things were different. Everything happens for a reason, from the biggest disasters of our generation to the death of a pet. It all defines who we are and it all affects us in different ways.

<3

**theme**

So I've decided that my theme is going to be a "cocktail" attire type party (to give people a chance to dress up) and my colors are brown and blue. Chocolate and Aqua. Milky and Robins egg. Not sure the exact combo it all seriously depends on what I find but I need to head over to my favorite place (target!) and find SOMETHING so I can send out invites and get a feel for who's going to come. Now I need addresses..

Hailey picked her theme too.. it's Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and she's really excited about it.

She wanted to do a kitties theme, but they didn't have it online.. although it would have been easier with the colors, I guess I can swing a "Disney" themed party.

why do parties have to be so expensive?! And so tiresome to plan. I'm hoping I can plan mine in a quick amount of time and spend a lot of time on hers.. since it's her golden b-day and such a big deal :)

<3

**birthdays**

So the end of September/ October are a little crazy for me since I've got MY birthday and Hailey's birthday a week later.

I am planning to do a dinner party with my friends for me and an all out golden birthday party for her! So I'm trying to get her to decide on what theme she wants so I can start thinking about what I'm going to do.. not to mention start buying stuff since I'm trying to spread my money spending out!

I bought her a backpack today.. Hannah Montana. It was the cheapest one at Ross, but it was also the biggest and the least expensive so I don't think either of us care what's on the outside!

I also need to start planing my dinner party and getting invites out. I want it to be kind of small and intimate.. but that never seems to happen with my friends...

<3

**Work**

I have to say as much as I enjoy working the "normal" shifts I am SO not used to getting up this early.. I hate that I can't stay up anymore! I'm so lame.. I know eventually I'll get used to it and be able to get up early and go to bed at a somewhat "normal" hour instead of eight, but DAMN i'm tired!

It's Tuesday. Only four days till the weekend! And five days till my Rose comes home :)

<3

I can't stop laughing..

so I was hangin out at The Simmon's Casa last night and of course it was good times.. watching the "shake yo Poak Chop" video and watching the hilarity that ensued. I almost spit Diet Peksi everywhere.. I love the Simmons clan. They're always good times.

but the thing that made me laugh the hardest was this...

So there's this song, "Love Me Dead" by Ludo



In the song there is this line "You're a parasitic, psycho, filthy creature
finger-bangin' my heart"

Last weekend I was riding with the Simmons 4 down to the beach, and on the way we were jammin out to various tunes on George's iPod. Well this song came on, and much to my surprise Georgie knew pretty much every word... I'm digging the song (it was the first time I'd heard it) and I wasn't paying much attention to the lyrics because Gill was talking to me. All of a sudden George and Jazz start CRACKING up.. They promise me that they'll "tell me later" what they were laughing at..

Cut to last night in the kitchen George goes "wait! I don't think we ever told you what we were laughing at in the car!" Jazz starts giggling and I'm like "no! Tell me!" so George is like "you know that Ludo song we were listening to?" "Yeah" "Well there's that line, finger banging my heart, and we were laughing because Georgie was in the backseat rockin out singing at the top of his lungs and we know that if he knew what it was and knew that it was "bad" he wouldn't have been singing it.. so we were joking that he must think it's like you know, a gun with his fingers.. like BANG BANG!!!"



I'm seriously still laughing. It's just so funny to think about!!

<3

Saturday at the Barton house...

Saturdays are always interesting here :) We've got a kind of "routine" that happens when we don't have a birthday or event of some sort to go to.

~My parents still wake up early, but sleep in till about 630-7, which is an accomplishment. Let me tell you.
~They make breakfast, the whole nine yards, bacon eggs and toast, if Hailey's here there is always pancakes.
~If I can get away with it I'll sleep in till 10 or 11, if Hailey's home she wakes me up at 9.
~My dad is usually in the middle of some big home improvement project, today it's our bathroom.
~The FISH or JACKFM is aways blasting.
~My mom usually goes shopping, for groceries, which trust me takes a long time.. she does the coupon game. it's pretty amazing how much money she saves and it's always fun to see what she comes home with.
~My brother and I are doing various things. Either working, "playing" on the computer, or helping clean up the madness from the week :)
~the afternoon's are spent hanging out listening to music and napping
~the evening is usually dinner with the family, in the summer dad always BBQ's cause it's too hot to cook inside :)
~the late night is either movies at home or out with friends!

I love Saturdays. My mom's home with the groceries. Gotta go help her unload :)

<3

**Olympic Bliss**

yes. I'm enjoying every minute of these 2008 games. I go to sleep watching swimming and diving, wake up watching soccer and eat lunch watching whitewater and water polo.. It makes me proud to be not only an American but part of the generation of people ready to see the world REALLY change for the better. Not just because of a competition between nations, not just because of a new president, not because of a fad that's good for the environment... but because we realize that without a legitimate change in our everyday lives our children and grandchildren wont be able to enjoy the simple pleasure of watching someone break a world record, or watch someone from a Nation that's never been heard of win a bronze medal. It's incredible to think of how far we've come. It's nauseating to think of how far we have to go. It's invigorating to imagine a brighter tomorrow.

I'm getting sentimental.

<3

**Almost TMI... hahahaha**

I had to go in for a drug test today..

One of those "before you get the job" precautions a lot of companies take.. understandable... and I have nothing to worry about since I gave up my hardcore crack habit like three years ago... just kidding.

Anyway. Here's what I'm getting at.

I hate doing these "pee sample" things.. they're always awkward, but usually you get like a little cup and a lid and you leave it in one of those boxes with your name on the outside and you never see the person who has to carry around and test your cup of pee right?? Well.. not this place. I walk in the back and the guy hands me a cup that looks like one of those liquid measuring cups you use to bake with.. so I'm a little thrown off... then he doesn't give me a lid... even more thrown off... then he asks me. "do you feel like you need to use the restroom?" like I'm five or something. Awkward? yes. So I walk into the bathroom and "fill er up" best I can and walk back out... he asks me to place it on one of those blue medical blanket looking things and as I'm washing my hands proceeds to start testing!

Even more awkward, he made me sit in a little chair while he droppered my bright yellow pee on a little test strip and made notes on a chart...

Needless to say as soon as he was done I booked it out of there as fast as I could!

<3 Outtie

**my babies growin up**

So it's midway through July.. August is right around the corner and then... September... which means Hailey is going to start formal schooling. I can't believe it. I know most kids start pre-school at three and I know it's only going to be a few days a week for a few hours but oh my... I can't believe she's going to school! It seems like just yesterday I was bringing her home from the hospital or feeding her her first solid food.. watching her take her first steps or making her laugh for the first time. Now she's lost her "baby" look, wants to be called a "big girl" and can "do it myself". When did that baby turn into a little girl? And what's going to happen in a few years when she starts school full time?? I think I'm going to be more of a mess than she is on her first day... actually. I can pretty much guarantee it.



<3

Psychology?

anyone really good at it and want to help me next time I take my test? I freakin study and read and try to prepare but the damn tests are really hard and really hard to get used to. It's a completely online course and the tests are worth the bulk of the points... so no matter how many assignments I do I'm pretty much screwed because I've bombed both tests I've taken :(

WHY'D I sign up for summer school?!

<3

cocoa butter...

so I must warn you.. if you're going to slather yourself in cocoa butter be prepared to have an inexplicable craving for some chai tea.. or at least some sugar cookies.

seriously. I smell like baked goods.


<3

angry three year old.

My daughter is the cutest thing alive. She's got the best personality she's a sweet kid and she's always asking if everyone is okay... but when she's tired or mad about something she's hard headed and refuses to listen to anything you say.. well that just so happened to be today.. I asked her nicely to come into her toy room and clean it up. We're leaving very shortly to meet my mom who's driving her up to Bakersfield so she can go stay with her dad. She sat on the floor and started picking things up and moving them around.. so I asked her again. Then again. and again and again and again... well you get the idea. So I put her in time out for not listening.. she continued to just cry and not move. So I told her if she didn't start picking up her toys I was going to throw them all away.

So now there is a white trash bag full of toys on the table and a REALLY angry teary eyed three year old in the living room....

kids *sigh*

<3