Dear Meaghan,


Please promise yourself that you will never move again. At least not cross-country, and definitely not until you can afford to have someone move you.


When you start getting that "urge" to move to a new place, remember how sore you feel today after moving the entire contents of your 2 bedroom apartment to a UHaul the night before.

And please never forget how tired and exhausted you feel at this very minute.

Love,

Yourself

Well, today's the day! Last day in Denver. Will is finishing up with packing the UHaul and he will be taking off shortly. I am working my last day in the office and will be following behind him this afternoon.

My first cross-country driving trip alone! Should be interesting- the most I've driven alone is from St. Louis to Chicago. Wish me luck! The next time I blog I'll be a Southern girl!

Adios Denver, hellloooo Nashville!

Catching Up

Well, hello blog world! Long time, no write. I don't really know why I haven't blogged in a few weeks. Laziness, I guess! I will do my best to bring everyone up to speed with what's happening in my world these days.


First off, sad news. I lost my camera about a month ago. :( I'm very heartbroken about this- almost a month with no new pictures!! Boo! The good news, though, is that I didn't lose any pictures. I had just uploaded my photos to the computer before it disappeared. So all is not lost.

Shaughn and Nicole came to visit over Labor Day Weekend. It was a bit of a whirlwind trip, but I hope they had a good time! We sampled some beer at the New Belgium Brewery in Ft. Collins, had lunch in Boulder, went out for tasty Mexican, and pre-partied with all the CU fans before the CU/CSU football game at Mile High Stadium.

Hurricane Ike hit Houston hard last weekend. My heart goes out to everyone there, but especially for my family. I'm happy to report that everyone is safe, although without power. Please keep them in your prayers. Also my Grandma Wingard. She has been in the hospital and is now in a nursing home. I am praying for her speedy recovery and return home soon!

My cousin Leslie had a baby boy this week! Little Drew is just precious...I can't wait to meet him. Congrats to Ben, Leslie, Gracie, and Luke on the newest addition to the Hedenberg clan!

Last night we drove up to Boulder to watch the CU/WVU game. It was a Blackout game so all the CU fans dressed in black- it was a pretty cool site to see so many people dressed in black. We sat in the rowdy student section and had a great time. It was such a good game! Went to overtime and CU won by a touchdown. GO CU!!

Aside from that not much has been happening. I am wasting a bit of time right now, getting ready to head to our going away BBQ at our friend Jenn's house. This is it- it's our last weekend in Denver! I can not believe that we are leaving! It's so bittersweet. I'm terribly sad to leave Denver, but yet really excited to move. A week from today we'll be on the road and headed to Nashvegas. Our apartment is in a total state of disarray. Will is adamant about packing something up every night, so I am now living out of a suitcase as the rest of my clothes are in boxes already. Good thing he's around! It doesn't matter how many times I move...I never feel like there's that much to do until the very last minute when it becomes overwhelming. Hopefully I won't have that feeling this time around! We decided to go with PODS instead of a U-Haul- a decision that I am extremely happy about. Yes, it will cost a bit more in the long run, but I love that I don't have to drive cross country alone. And I'm glad that Will won't be stuck driving the U-Haul.

We are heading up to hang out with our friends Paul and Erica at their new place in Steamboat tomorrow. I'm really looking forward to the drive through the mountains- it will be our last for a looonnnggg time. And the Aspen trees should be turning colors, so it should be more gorgeous than usual!

Well, off to BBQ and hopefully make it to Denver's Oktoberfest! Next week will be crazy with the move, but I will do my best to touch base again soon!

Girlfriends

I am sooo very happy to have met some great ladies through work- Kathi, Jenn, and Cherisse. Kathi is in her mid 50's and has been a God-send for me. She has some of the best advice to give and is always available to talk to whenever I need to vent, ask questions, or just ponder what my next steps in life should be. She is very inspirational in that she raised a son as a single mom and has had many hardships in her life, yet she has never given up. She has kept a sense of humor and a sense of hope through some pretty rough times. She is one of the most unique women I know, both in personality and in fashion. She keeps her hair short, she wears rings on EVERY finger, she has more sets of earrings than a Claire's store, and more shoes and hats than anyone I have ever met. She wears a different hat nearly everyday. She was very instrumental in helping me buy my car...and before that she would frequently give me a ride home from work because she knew how much I loathed taking the bus home. Kathi has a heart of gold and I am truly going to miss our talks when I move.

Jenn and Cherisse are both around my age, and the 3 of us have such a blast together. We have started spending more time together outside of work, and I've really been enjoying their company and getting to know them better. Jenn is a single mom to an adorable little girl, Ashlynne who is almost 5. Jenn just turned 24, but has already endured so much in her life. I really admire how driven she is. She has had some rough times since I have known her, but no matter how bad things seem to be, she is always smiling, and I really admire that. She and I can banter back and forth all day long. I am so happy she "gets" my sense of humor.

Cherisse just moved her from Southern California a couple months ago. She is such a firecracker! The epitomy of California girl- she loves being outside and on the beach and, of course, surfing! She is a fantastic recruiter, so it's been fun to watch and learn from her. She moved out here to be closer to her boyfriend and I admire the fact that she was OK with picking up and moving across the country for someone (sound familiar??). :) She is a total free spirit who shares my passion for travel- she spent 6 months living in Australia, and has traveled all over Europe. I love listening to her stories! They make me more determined to get out and travel more.

One of the things I have missed the most from Chicago is having girlfriends that I can laugh with. And both these girls make me laugh. Our personalities mesh so well- I love that the 3 of us have become completely comfortable around each other in such a relatively short amount of time. We had a girls' night out last night, complete with appetizers and wine at my place...then to the bars for some dancing. And dance we did! None of us have any shame on the dance floor. We were cracking each other up with our...moves. It was such a fun night!

It makes me sad that I finally found fun girls to spend time with here right before I leave for Nashville. But I am positive I will keep in touch with all 3 of them...and it gives me 3 more excuses to come back to Denver as often as I can!

Big day!

Friday was a momentous day in the world of Meaghan. To explain just how momentous it was, let me rewind the clock a bit. Those of you who knew me in high school may recall the awesome vehicles I drove. Just as a warning, this will probably be a long, involved blog. But the story is too good to not document.

When I first turned 16 my Grandparents surprised me by driving up to Decatur in their 1986 Ford Mustang convertible...and then leaving the car with me (well, the family, really, but I was the one of "driving" age without a car) to use. The Mustang looked much like this one- only blue.

My best friend Kelly and I had many, many fun times in that car. Those were the days of $0.98/gallon tanks of gas, which meant I could fill up for around $12. Kelly and I drove all over that summer- on our "Route", to Clinton to go out on the lake, to basketball stuff, etc...

Once we drove to Peoria to pick up Layta, our family's exchange student and got a flat tire on the side of the road, somewhere between Wapella and Bloomington. Did either of us know how to fix a flat tire? No, of course not. We were stranded on the side of the road. Fortunately Mom had given me her brand new cell phone to use in case of an emergency so we were able to call Mom and Dad and have them come help us. And what did we do while we waited for them? We donned some full-body mechanic suits that I had in my trunk (don't ask why...), hiked into a corn field to use the bathroom, stripped out of the mechanic suits, down to our sports bras, and laid out for an hour and a half while we waited for our help to arrive. If you can imagine, two 16 year old girls stripped down to their sports bras laying out on the side of Interstate 55 really drew a lot of attention from passersby. And not really good attention. We had to politely turned down several offers to "help" us. Parents- let your young daughters know that it isn't a great idea to follow in our footsteps. Girls, if you are reading this- learn how to change a tire...or at the very least, be smart enough to stay fully clothed when you are put in a predicament like we were in.

Believe it or not, that isn't the dumbest thing I did in the Mustang! The mother of all stupid moves came later that summer. I was working at LaGondola and was due into work around 4 PM. Kelly lived just a couple blocks from work, so I stopped by to say hello. We were blowing bubbles in her backyard (I know, how cool were we??) when we decided it would be fun to blow bubbles out the window of my car with the top down. So Kelly jumped in the driver's seat and we took off around her neighborhood. We were driving along, I was admiring all the pretty bubbles, while Kelly was complaining that she couldn't see the bubbles because they were all floating behind the car. So what did our genius, 16 year old minds decide was the perfect solution to this problem? Why, we would drive in reverse, of course! It seemed like such a perfect, easy solution to our dilemma. So Kelly kicked it into reverse and off we went. We were driving along, both enjoying the pretty bubbles, then...CRASHHHH! We hit a truck. A parked truck. On the side of a residential road. Genius, I tell you. The ironic part was that we were driving so slowly that there was absolutely zero damage done to the truck, and the Mustang only suffered from a cracked rear light. We contemplated running from the scene of the accident, but our guilty Catholic consciences wouldn't allow it. So we made the death walk- up the driveway, to the door of a stranger, to tell them we just ran into their parked car.

"How?" the truck owner asked. We proceded to tell her just a tiny white lie about turning around in her driveway (no bubbles were mentioned to protect the innocent...I mean, guilty) and not noticing her truck. She surveyed the scene, and observed that the damage was done to our car, not her truck. Then, she asked the question that Kelly and I still ask each other to this day- "Why on earth did you guys come up here and tell me? Why didn't you just leave?".

Needless to say, the incident didn't go over well with Mom and Dad. Shortly after the "Bubble" accident, I was stripped of my rights to use the Mustang and was instead allowed to use a beast of an automobile- our full size conversion van, also blue. It looked much like this.

Impressive, right? So I spent the rest of my high school years being the envy of soccer moms, while my Dad quickly became the envy of everyone at Wagners in his new ride. The carefree days of running the streets of Decatur were over. I now looked like I was eternally ready to pick up my 3.2 kids from swim practice and run to the grocery store for milk. It wasn't all bad though. When a big group of friends wanted to go to the movies, we didn't have to worry about taking several cars. All 15 of us could pile into my van, and off we went! The van will live in infamy amongst my highschool friends. We still talk about my "sweet" highschool ride to this day. In fact, the van will forever live in one of St Teresa's yearbook. In it there is a picture of my friend Nicki and I surfing on top of the van. Yes, surfing. Those were the days.

I went on to college in St. Louis, leaving the van behind me. None of my brothers or sister were ever allowed the...pleasure...of driving the van after me. I was the only Wingard child to have the pure joy of being seen around town driving a full size conversion van...I was probably the only 16 year old teenager in Decatur driving a full size conversion van.

Since then, I haven't had a car. Living in Chicago I didn't need one, but the past year in Denver has been difficult without one. Will has been gracious enough to let me use his car when I needed to get somewhere, but relying on someone for a ride all the time isn't fun. So Friday, I finally did it. I bought a car. It's a cute little 2004 Volkswagen Jetta, and I love it dearly. So dearly that I promise never to let bubbles within a 20 foot radius of it. And probably not Kelly, either. At least, not in the driver's seat. :)

Has anyone else caught Olympics Fever?? :) I'm normally not such a nut about watching sports on TV but there's just something about the Olympics that I love. Maybe it's watching all the different countries competing and the honor that goes along with winning a medal. Maybe it's the sappy commercials that make me teary-eyed no matter how many times I watch them (anyone seen the Visa commercial where the dad finishes the track race with his son? AH! Gets me every time!). Maybe it's the excitement of seeing if Michael Phelps can break the record for most Gold Medals ever won. But I think the main reason I love watching the Olympics is...because I don't have cable and NBC happens to be one of 2 stations that come in clear for us. :)

Just kidding! About the cable thing, at least. I really do love watching the Olympics. The Opening ceremony this year was just awesome! Chicago better be thinking already about how they can top Beijing's opener, should they get the bid for 2016. I would love to see Chicago or Madrid get the 2016 Summer Olympics. I love both those cities so much- it would be great to be able to return to either and watch the Olympics there. (I say I'd like either to win the bid, but I'm about 70% hoping that Chicago gets it.)

So in case anyone is wondering why I didn't blog about what an amazing, fun weekend Will and I had...it's because we were working hard at making permanent dents in our couch from our butts being glued there watching every hour of Olympic coverage that NBC has broadcasted thus far. And as such we barely left our apartment all weekend. We aren't even picky about the sports we watch- we have sat through multiple rounds of rowing, swimming, gymnastics, cycling, sabre fencing, beach volleyball, indoor volleyball, basketball, synchronized diving, and water polo. And we're only on the 4th day! The good news is that I am now an expert judge in multiple sports. So if anyone needs to know the intricate details of how to win a sabre fencing match, I'm your gal! :)

To quote my adorable niece...Uh Ohhhh.

I came home last night to an...interesting...surprise. There was a note on our door from City Gate, our apartment complex, checking in with us to see if we will be renewing our lease at the end of next month. That in itself isn't the problem. We know we won't be renewing our lease. The date that our lease ends, however, is a bit of a shock.

To explain this, let me rewind to last September. We were still in Chicago, planning our move out here. Steve, the assistant manager for City Gate, called to let me know we got the apartment we wanted and we discussed the lease length. At the time, Steve gave me two options to choose from- 11 months or 13 months. I asked him why 12 months wasn't an option and he went into some yadda, yadda, yadda details about how October 1 isn't a great time to try to rent an apartment out here.

So, long story short, we thought we had signed a 13 month lease with our lease ending on October 30th. Apparently, we have not. Another classic example of how fantastic the management has been at this particular apartment complex. And yes, I am being sarcastic. We haven't had the greatest experiences dealing with them. I got a copy of the lease last night, and sure enough, our move out date is listed as September 29th.

So, this puts a bit of a curve ball in our plans. My last day of work is scheduled for October 17. The plan was to leave that night for Vegas, see Jimmy Buffett out there, come back on Monday, pack up our stuff and hit the road by the weekend, arriving in Nashville in time for Will to go the the Titans Monday Night Football game with his dad. NOW, however, I'm not sure what we are going to do. Apparently move to Nashville a few weeks earlier than expected! I do have the option of staying with a work friend and then leave on the original planned date, but who knows at this point.

Ahh, life. Always keeps you on your toes! :)

Sweet Relief...

In honor of my dad, who loves to talk about the weather, I am dedicating this blog to the heat wave that Denver is currently enjoying. Finally, after 23 days of waiting, we are getting some relief from the heat! This is record-breaking weather we've been having out here. The temperature has been over 90 for 20+ days, and today it is actually supposed to drop...to the mid-to-high 80's. Whew! What a dip. Ugh, talk about a heat wave! I know I shouldn't complain since I don't have to deal with humidity anymore (for a couple more months, at least!), but man, it's been hot here! To be fair, we do have some humidity...this morning it's up to 72%. But it doesn't feel as though you are stepping outside into someone's steamy bathroom after they've taken a really long, hot shower.

Thank you, Lord, for creating semi-arid deserts that don't require humidity. I'm a big fan of the fact that my hair doesn't take on a life of its own and spiral into an out-of-control crazy, frizzy mess when I walk outside. I can deal with feeling like I am living in an oven, but I'm not sure I'm ready to return to the land of saunas. :)

So I thought I'd take a moment this morning to sympathize with all my fellow Midwest bloggers. I hear the weather there is just awful, too. Dad said the heat index was 109 the other day...that's quite close to what our temperature was the other day. Another friend likened the humidity in St. Louis to "chewing his air before he swallowed." Yikes. I hope everyone is staying cool and doing their best to beat the heat!