Biggest Thankful Ever.

Sooooo.... BIG news!

Zimbags are now available in the flesh (cloth?) at a retail store! Soulfood, a wonderful coffee/book/music/poetry community in Redmond has graciously allowed us to have a spot in their store. Our bags are featured right where the line for coffee forms, where everybody can see them. This is a dream of 3 years finally come to fruition... we are so thankful for this opportunity.

Lauren and I are beside ourselves with happiness and I'm sure you've heard our girly squealing where you are. Tonight we will be heading back with the talented Kirsten to finish our display.

Here are some pictures.

The plan:

The before space:

The after (although more is to come on the corkboard display, stay tuned...):

The happiest bag elves ever:

If you live nearby, come visit!

xo, Meg

PS- Our online store is now active for those of you who don't live close enough to visit! www.zimbags.org

so thankful.

Hello. So many things to be thankful for these days.

Let's get started and see how long the list gets:

1. Desk Update. I am very thankful for my desk find and love the way it turned out. Look for yourself:

2. 19 days. We move into our house in 19 days. 19. Crazy. Our house has become a boxland.

Not Thankful For:

Thankful For:

3. Great music. I love music.

4. Fall. If I haven't mentioned it lately, I love fall.

5. My partner in crime. He makes me tick, keeps me on my toes, and makes me laugh until my spleen rips in half. For instance, we went to the movies and the girl next to him let him know she was going to put the armrest down between them and he responded, straight-faced, "That's probably the appropriate thing to do." Lauren and I were laughing so hard our spleens just exploded.

6. Exaggeration. I am prone to it. I am thankful that it exists and that I am allowed to take part.

7. New boots. If you didn't hear the bellowing where you live, I'll fill you in. My favorite fall boots had their final day a few weeks back when I tripped up the stairs at the doctor's office and the sole ripped off. And my soul ripped out of my chest. It was the saddest walk to and from the doctor's office ever. I'm sure people pitied me, pouting my way along the city streets while my sole flapped against the sidewalk with every step. BUT I found replacement boots that, dare I say, are better.

8. A desk for Ryan! Ryan's mom graciously donated a desk to our cause and Ryan is a happy camper and has already warned me that it is his desk and I am not to touch it. Except when I am revamping it. After that, he may store his piles of paperwork in it and it is his first workspace that he doesn't have to share since we've been married. Thanks Adrienne! You made one boy very happy. (Oh and me too, because there are enough drawers to hide all his junk/paper/receipts/bits o' things.)

9. Books a plenty. Between trips to the library, friends that send me books, and my own growing collection - I am reading non-stop and loving every moment. Even the double vision that occurs if I don't wear my glasses. And I'm thankful for a husband that appreciates my love for words, even though he doesn't understand or partake in it.

10. Down comforter. It finally came time to change out our summer blanket for our nice, comfy down comforter. And it makes me so happy. Bring it on winter. But don't really, ok? No snow this year. Please?

xo, Meg

wow.

It's been awhile, huh?

Well, of course it has. Things have been busy around here, what with getting ready to move and visiting family and watching the leaves change colors.

A few things I'm thankful for today:

1. Our house is now a house. It's not just 2x4s stuck in the ground with a little cement. Le Maison has windows, doors, walls, actual stairs, and all sorts of surfaces I am looking forward to cleaning.

2. A desk in the dumpster. One morning, while taking the dogs out for a walk really early, I spotted a beautiful desk that I knew must be my writing desk. And it was the perfect price: free. Someone left it outside the apartments dumpster. So Ryan (in his pajamas) and I carried it inside and I planned for it's face lift. I vacillated between black and white paint. You'll have to wait for an update to find out which I chose.

Before .... After photo coming.

3. A Remington Holiday typewriter. Many of you know that I have been wanting a typewriter for quite sometime and while I have one at my parents house, it's quite bulky to ship and needs some repairs I wouldn't know how to do. So yesterday, on a random stop in Value Village, I found a Remington Holiday typewriter in beautiful blue that is in pristine condition. The ribbon is in the mail and I will start using it for my first drafts as soon as it arrives! It was the missing piece in my writing process and now I feel my desk is complete.

4. Trip to the beach. Ryan, Andrew, Kendra, the pups, and I headed to Pacific Beach last weekend and had a ball. We made a fire, ran from giant bugs, slept in a tent (or car), and walked on the beach in the beautiful sun. Both Ry and I feel most at home in the sand with the sound of waves roaring around us. And the pups did really well. That was a surprise.

5. Autumn. It is officially Autumn and you can feel the change in the air. My favorite season is only 2 days in and I have already made soup, bread, and pumpkin pie.

xo, Meg

We're back.

Hi everyone.

We are back from our adventure in the mid-west/east. It was great to see family and friends, but we are wiped out. It will probably take a few days to recover (give me a break, I'm still recovering from surgery and diabetes meltdown too), but then I will be back with thankfuls.

There are many right now, but they overwhelm my currently frail brain when I start to think of them.

Hope everything is going well with you!

xo, Meg

PS- I can tell you one thing I am thankful for: supportive friends. That's nice.

Guest Writer: Ryan

Hello readers of ‘Rock Quarries and Applesauce Sandwiches’! This is Ryan stepping in to write an entry for Meghan’s blog. Let me start by taking you back in time...to fifth grade or so. Life was so much easier then. We were all care free, enjoying the moment. The amount of adventure and accomplishment that you could pack into a 24 hours back then seems completely improbable today. All this to set the stage that my writing style, vocabulary, and overall desire to capture a reader’s interest with my writing hasn’t evolved since. Enjoy.

Now that I’ve lured you in with a heightened sense of disappointment, I have some great news to share with you…we will soon be homeowners!!! We are building our first home in Auburn, Washington. Due to the ongoing economic downturn which hit the housing market hard along with the lowest interest rates in years, we decided that this is the time to take the plunge into home ownership. We are so excited to finally have the privacy and freedom that you have in a house compared to an apartment and it will be great to finally have a small fenced in yard that we can let the dogs (Telfair and Apollonia) play in freely. Again, we are truly excited and blessed to be able to purchase a home at this point in our lives and it is my hope that we will never take this nor any future blessings for granted.

Home Details
· 3 bedrooms
· 2.5 bathrooms
· Loft and Study
· 2 car garage
· Luxury master bathroom
· Master bedroom balcony

For a photo tour, go here!

Check back for more updates. Only about 70 days left until we call this place home.

Ryan

Thankful: Photo Edition

This past Sunday Ryan and I trekked up to Mount Rainier in search of some adventure, scenery, and peace. We found all. Although the views of the Mountain were obscured by fogs, we were able to focus on the details and the alpine fields (and the marmots, of course). For the first time in our marriage, Ryan had to convince me to finish a hike. It's usually the other way around, but I literally thought I was going to die. I'm glad he persuaded (aka: kicked my butt) me up the mountain. We reached Panaroma Point at 6,800 feet above sea level and went a bit further in the direction of Camp Muir, but turned back because it was so foggy we could only see a little bit in front of us and dew had drenched us.



It was a beautiful day. Here are my thankfuls from the past weekend in photo form:

xo, Meg

PS- The full album can be viewed here: Hikes, Bikes, and Walks.

Crazy times.

Things this past week and the upcoming week are going to be crazy. Crazy good and crazy bad. Just lots to do and see. And then.... vacation! September 1-11 we will be in a mixture of Ohio, Pennsylvania, and North Carolina (with varying rest stops between the latter two.)

Here are some thankfuls to tide you over until my next posting:

1. Statistics is over after this week! Ryan can attest to the fact that I am indeed (and contrary to popular opinion) skilled in math, but am miserable throughout the process. Not to brag (well, kinda) - I rock at math (apparently, statistics in particular), but find it utterly boring. Perhaps that's why I hate it. I like exciting things. Not things with definite answers and proven paths to a solution. I enjoy problem solving on my own, from problem to solution with no step-by-steps. So, I am thankful that this class is almost over and that it has taught me what it is I hate about math.

2. I have the best friend and partner in the whole world (and probably the universe too). His name is Ryan.

3. I am back in control**, and you all know how much I love to be in control. My blood sugars are back under my control and submit to my carb ratio-ing and insulin injecting ways. For a while I was stressed to check my blood glucose as it could be at 400 or 50 - randomly. Not associated with any choice of mine. Ahhh, the feeling of control.*** **I do sometimes plummet or sky-rocket, but I see them coming after, say, I have eaten a giant chocolate bar or rock climbed for far too long. I still consider this control. ***I am under no illusion that this will be the way it always is. Chronic diseases have a way of showing you who is boss, but for now it is nice to feel in control.

4. Hiking trip. Sunday will be our first Mt. Rainier trip of the summer due to my recovery. We have been up there at least once a year since we've been together and I think you could call it our "happy place."

5. WEEEEE. I'm so excited about this one! We finally bought a backpacking tent and sleeping bags. I found stuff on great sale at REI outlet (you should check them out: http://www.rei.com/outlet/). Altogether our tent and sleeping bags weigh 11 pounds. 3 pounds for each sleeping bag and 5 pounds for the tent. That will make for easier hiking and camping! To top it off, my sleeping bag is the most beautiful color, which always makes life a little sweeter. So if you are up for a hiking/camping trip - let us know.

xo, Meg

Using this Bashed Up Body

I love to be outside and I love to exercise (see: using this body I have).

These thankfuls are related to those things:

1. Rock climbing. Yesterday I was brave enough to go try rock climbing for the first time since college. I used to love to rock climb and/or repel, but fell out of the habit after college. But I put on my courage and went .... and had an awesome time bouldering and jumping from high places onto bouncy mats. My arms are revolting today, but it was great fun.

2. Swimming at 1 am. August is meteor month, so a friend had a bon fire and then we went to the nearby lake she has a key to (it's a private lake) and swam out to a floating dock to watch for shooting stars. I saw a few, but swimming in the lake was refreshing, even at 1 in the morning.

3. Walking. Ryan and I walk a lot. I mean a lot. Hours at a time. So imagine my delight when we went to explore our soon-to-be new neighborhood and found 3 trails within 2 minutes of walking from our house. One is a rough path along the river that we walked for over an hour and saw no sight of an end, one is an up-hill wonder that could be biked as well, and the other is the Interurban Trail which I will use to bike to the train station (but it also goes all the way to Seattle and stops in every city along the way, I think that's where they got the name of the trail). It made me sure we chose the right place. Everything we need is within 2 miles, it's surrounded by farm land, close to public transit (to Seattle where I hope to get a job), about 50 yards from a river, close to a million and 1 parks, and has great views of Mt. Rainier.

4. Biking. I have been biking at least every other day, but most days to get where I need to go. I love using my own energy as transportation, it's very satisfying indeed. I am even getting brave enough to take left turns in the car turn lanes. Thank goodness for bike lanes and trails though.

5. Have I ever mentioned how thankful I am that Washington is beautiful and how blessed I feel to live here? Well, consider it mentioned.

Watch for a post from Ryan with pictures of our ever-developing house (I think it is about to hit puberty aka getting windows and such). Another post may also include our plans for a secret passageway and room. Things are exciting around here.

xo, Meg

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Oh, happy day.

We said a sad goodbye to Alyssa this morning as she headed back to school, but we will see her in a month!

Today was a lovely mix of lazy moments and busy times. Here are some thankfuls:

1. Sleeping. After an early morning (3:45am) and quick jaunt to the airport and the obligatory stop by our ever growing house-to-be, we came back and slept for a few hours to catch up on the sleep we lost earlier.

2. Dark chocolate, Rainier cherry, Praline bar. I was crazy to not like chocolate in my earlier years. I am now quite in love with the substance. Particularly dark chocolate. If you ever want to wiggle into my heart, there are 4 ways: coffee, chocolate, cheese, and wine. Try it some time. Ryan has learned quickly that a sample of cheese or dark chocolate bar can quickly cheer me up. Also, only Ryan knows my hiding spot for my chocolate - I will never tell you.

3. Walking along the river. A nice long walk along the river this evening involved some photographs (I'm still trying to get good at this), bats, a sunset, breezes through poplars, holding hands, and dreaming. It ended with some live music (albeit, that of teenagers with rocky skills) outside Redmond city hall. What a nice evening. I am never as happy as when I am outside and moving about.

4. Blue heron. We saw an eagle, some bats, Canadian geese, robins, and my favorite, the blue heron, sleeping high up in a tree. It's long beak in a stark silhouette against the pink sunset.

5. Deciding to find beauty and happiness today.

All in all, it was a great day.

xo, Meg

Happy Grey Days!

I love, love, love grey days. I am most productive and kind on these days. I smile more. I know, strange- but it's me.

So aside from my thankfulness for the past few grey days, here are some more thankfuls for your reading pleasure:

1. Blackberry days of summer. (No, not my phone, the real thing!) The blackberries are ripening faster than they can be picked. This equals evenings of blackberry picking and yummy treats. So far we have had cereal with blackberries, blackberry (and blueberry) crumble, and blackberry pancakes. Yum.

2. Twin Falls. This is my new favorite hike. It is perfect for my current fitness level (see: low) and results in spectacular views of 2 waterfalls. It is also perfect for hot days. You can be brave, cross a river on some rocks and logs, and get close to the falls - close enough to swim at the base.

*My new project is to take pictures of me checking my blood when I am doing it in strange places. Here I am checking my blood glucose at Twin Falls, on a rock, in the middle of a river.

3. Where did August go? This isn't a thankful, merely a question. I can't believe the month is almost half way over.

4. 80 days until we (hopefully) move into our house! We have weekly pictures of the progress, but Ry keeps saying he wants to do an update on here so I am saving those pictures for him.

5. I'm still alive. Despite life's best attempts to take me out, I'm still here. No, I'm not really close to dying (unless I get hit by a bus or something) - but sometimes it feels like life is trying to drain me of everything I have left. (Maybe that's just the Benadryl though.) Anyways, I'm just thankful I'm alive.

xoxo,

Meg

Productivity: On (but not on-line)

So the past few weeks have been very productive ones for me, but this always means I lose touch with people, don't answer my phone, ignore texts, don't check my email, and obviously don't update my blog.

But I made sure to write "Update Blog" on today's to-do list so that it would get done. Things are always more important when they are on my graph paper to-do list with a little hand drawn box to check off.

So here are my thankfuls for today:

1. An amazing team of doctors. Seriously, my doctor's finally got it together, figured out I am falling to pieces, and started communicating with one another. It's awesome. I feel much better about my care now. Soon I will be adding "Allergist" to my list of specialist doctors. It sucks. But I am thankful I have insurance, access to care, and a knowledgeable team of experts to help me with all this "shit" (my doctor's words, not mine ... well, mine too.)

2. PRODUCTIVITY!! I am thankful that some how I feel motivated and energetic enough to get a million things done at once. Even with Benadryl trying to knock me out every other minute I have been able to get a lot done.

3. Cool weather and rain. Call me crazy, but those are some of the things I love about Washington and even though the heat was nice for a time, it's great to have "our" weather back.

4. Zimbags. It keeps me busy, helps me feel I am living my purpose, and teaches me things. We are re-launching soon and you can follow our progress and get product sneak peeks here: www.zimbags.blogspot.com. Enjoy and watch for updates often!

5. Concert. Lauren won tickets (or our names on a list) to a "Company of Thieves" show tonight. It should be fun and it turns out I really like their music too! It's one good thing that came out of the warm weather, as Lauren called in to 107.7 on those hot days to let them know that Seattle may be 100 degrees but Redmond was registering at 109. Thanks Laur for being brave!

Alright, hopefully I will be more consistent.

xoxo,
Meg

One Year & A1C

Today I start on a sad note. One year ago today was the murder/suicide in our apartment parking lot. I will never forget that day or the lives lost that day. I wanted to go put flowers on the spot today, but couldn't work up the courage to face it all again. I can only pray that the families of those lost are finding peace. Perhaps next year I will be able to face that place again and honor the woman who died in such a tragic and unnecessary way.

It's also been exactly 4 months since I was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes. It was also 109 degrees today (sans AC and with a fever due to an infection). It hasn't been the best day, but there have been worse days.

On a happier note, my A1C is 7% with is very close to normal! (For those of you who don't know, an A1C is a blood test that can show the average blood glucose levels for the past 3 months.) Normal is between 5-6%, when diagnosed my A1C was over 14%.

For my thankfuls:

1. Meeting a new friend. Today I met a new friend for lunch. She also has Type 1 and had such positive things to say and even brought me glucose tablets to help with those pesky lows. It was nice to meet someone else in a similar situation and to be able to complain about lows and highs and have someone with personal experience be able to understand. Plus, we ate at Purple, my favorite resturant.

2. Sitting in the library's AC. Ryan and I went to the city early today and worked in the downtown library. We used their AC and free wi-fi. It was nice to escape the heat for a while, I even had to wear a sweater for a while. With temperatures like these, we may move into the library. (Doesn't that sound just awesome. I would love it!)

3. A simple note. My Diabetes Repair Doctor sent me a note on my lab reports about my A1C and how great I'm doing. Such a simple gesture that really meant a lot to me. He recogonizes that it's hard work and it was nice to get feedback on how I'm doing. Who doesn't like a little positive reinforcement once in a while?

4. Sisters. Growing up I thought I wanted sisters, now that I'm older I'm glad I didn't grow up with sisters, but am very glad I married into 3 sisters. We spent Saturday and Sunday laughing, swimming, dying hair, and shopping. It was such a pleasure to spend time with my sisters. (Don't let Alyssa "trust" you.... trust me .... hahaha.)

5. I'm a day closer to visiting my family!

xo, Meg

Birthday Thankfuls

Hi there! It's been over a week since my birthday, but I thought I'd share my birthday thankfuls with you...

1. I got to see Jessie (famously, JessAnn Smith of NYC) in the morning/afternoon. We grabbed picnic food from Whole Foods, chatted, picnicked at the Arboretum (my favorite place these days), found a neat tree, relived our youth by rolling around on the ground and getting bark in our skivies, walked around, and sadly said goodbye as she was heading back to NYC. It was terrific start to my birthday. (Pictures below.)

2. Ryan got me a card that has a drawing of a "Urology Department" reception desk and the caption is "Urology Department, can you please hold?" I almost died of laughter, what an appropriate card this year. But we agreed that in my case it's more like "Can you please stop holding?" I love having a darkly humorous husband.

3. Lauren, Emi, Kirsten, Kent, Greta, Ryan, and I gathered in Marymoor park in a big open field, laid out some blankets, flowers, sandwiched, snacks, wiffle (aka wiggle) balls, a bat, and a big purple ball. Fun was had by all! (Pictures below.)

4. Gifts! Lauren made me the sweetest/funniest Diabetes Repair Kits for when I go low... they include 15 skittles (the perfect amount) and each one has a different funny thing (quote/picture/etc.) She also got me 2 pairs of awesome yoga/running shorts that take my scar and diabetes into account. Kirsten got me a very cool print that says "Let them eat (picture of cake)" I'm excited to hang it in my new house soon. My cousin Maria sent me pictures of her and her husband and daughters along with my Aunt Lois and Uncle Phil and of course Andrew, Jessica and Baby George - I think this was my favorite present of all. (Pictures below.)

5. Ryan took me to Whole Foods and surprised me by letting me get one of every small dessert they had. If you know me, you know I love desserts, I love small things, and I love Whole Foods - it was awesome. For the first time in my life I got to say, "I'll have one of everything, please." (Pictures below).

Thanks to everyone who made it special for me. And thanks mom and dad for raising me (without you, there would be no birthday)!

Hope you enjoyed those photos! Stay tuned for a house update from the very famous Ryan.

xo, Meg

PS- If you think about it and can throw up a few prayers or thoughts for me I would greatly appreciate it. I have been having some sort of allergic reaction since I was in the hospital that they haven't been able to link to anything and that drives me mad (itchy palms and soles). As I write I am sitting here with my feet in a tub of water and Benadryl coursing through my veins. Itchy palms and soles of your feet are something I wouldn't wish on anyone (well, maybe Robert Mugabe, but that's a different story.) I may be seeing an allergist, but hope this ends before it comes to that - my birthday goal was no hospitalizations or diagnoses this year, and I'd like to make that happen if possible.

PPS- I will be spending the weekend with 3 of my sisters (in-law) and am VERY thankful for that!!

Weet.

Today's thankfuls:

1. Another great trip to the off-leash dog park at Marymoor and here are some pictures to prove it:

"Look mom, no leash!Telfair marked every blade of grass he passed.

Appy dappy nice and happy!
Happy, free pups. Note the leashes around my neck, not theirs.

2. My dad is reading Harry Potter too! How cool! Usually I'm all about fiction and such and my dad is about history books and such, but we both love these books. Right dad?

3. We are going to Pennsylvania. We thought it was out of the question for a while because all the tickets we found were outrageously expensive (like sell your pancreas expensive, when your pancreas actually works). So today we looked for September and we found cheap tickets! So we get to spend 10 days with my parents and seeing Alyssa in Cedarville.

4. The smell of freshly baked garlic-rosemary bread. I'm getting back to the things I love to do, and baking bread is one of them. (It's taken me so long to finish this post that I am know thankful for the taste of said bread.)

5. I'm thankful that my dogs are hilarious and make me laugh so hard. For instance, Apollonia army crawls out of bed and across the floor every morning. Also, Telfair takes a piece of food in his mouth and throws it for himself and then attacks it as if it were prey. I love that they are afraid of little tiny Poodles but bravely approach German Shepards.

xo, Meg