I promise to do a “Year in Review” post later (since I have been a horrible blogger once again this year), but I thought it would be fun to share my top 13 moments of this year :)

Without further adieu, here they are (in chronological order):

1. Attending the National Championship game with my little brother in Miami (January)

Significance:  Although we’ve both seen the Tide bring home National Championships, this is the first National Championship game that we’ve gotten to attend together.  I “chaperoned” for him and two of his friends (Alex stayed back in T-town), so we had lots of brother-sister bonding time, which was awesome!  So glad we got to take this trip together!

2.  Snow Day (January)

Significance: It rarely snows in Tuscaloosa, and when it does, it usually just spits a bit and doesn’t stick.  This time it did and everything was beautiful and white for a little while.  Plus, a picture I took of a giant snowball fight on campus got retweeted by James Spann, so if that isn’t significant, I don’t know what is ;)

3.  Dave Matthews Band Concert (April)

Significance:  I have been a DMB fan since high school, but somehow had never been to see them live.  For my 28th birthday in February, Alex bought me tickets to see them at Oak Mountain Amphitheatre in Birmingham.  So much fun!

4.  Cooking class date night at Sur La Table

Significance:  Alex and I love doing fun interactive date nights, so when I found out they do cooking classes at Sur la table in Birmingham, I bought him a certificate to one for his birthday.  We finally took our first cooking class in April and we had a BLAST.  Loved getting to experience it with my man : )

5.  Josh’s College Graduation (May)

Significance:  My amazing baby bro graduated from my alma mater with a degree in Chemical Engineering.  Even better, he maintained at 3.8 GPA while pursuing his degree AND pre-med studies.  Words cannot express how proud I am of this guy!

6. Be the Match Run (June)

Significance:  Alex and I ran in our FIRST 5k and it was even more special because we ran in honor of our dear friend Reba!  Proud to have this on my list of accomplishments :  )

7.  Cooper Bryant joined our family (June)

Significance:  I got a new puppy nephew in June (well actually he was born in April, but he joined our family on Father’s Day 2013.  He’s had us wrapped around his not so little paws ever since!

8. ISTE 2013 (June)

Significance:  I have presented numerous times at ISTE, but this one was extra special because it was my first workshop solo ;)  I didn’t know this at the time, but while I was in San Antonio for the conference, my Alex was prepping for the proposal ;)

9.  Engagement!

Significance:  Not that this needs any explanation, but it was definitely one of the best days of my life!

10.  Saying Yes to the Dress (October)

Significance:  I found my dream dress which is obviously a big deal for any bride.  To make things even better, I found it at the same place my mom bought her dress, it was the 3rd dress I tried on, and I was under budget.  I cannot wait to show her off in 2014!

 

11.  10 year high school reunion (October)

Significance:  On the same day I found my dress, I got to attend my high school reunion with my new fiance : )  I had a wonderful time seeing and visiting with everyone!

12. Warrior Dash (November)

Significance:  Before Alex proposed, he had been talking about wanting to do the Warrior Dash (a 5k mud run/obstacle course) and had been trying to get me to do it with him.  I told him that I would only do it if we were engaged and he agreed.  Little did I know that he already had the ring, so joke was on me ;)  Although I reluctantly agreed to hold up my end of the bargain, I actually had a lot of fun and enjoyed getting to experience it with my best friend and future hubby :)

13.  Celebrating nine years!

Significance:  Our last “official” dating anniversary.  I am so proud that we have made it this far and still have a lifetime to go :)

As usual, my apologies for being so MIA.  I have been so busy trying to keep up with school and the 2 jobs I’m working, as well as try to enjoy all of the little adventures Alex and I get together now that he is here, that writing is usually the last thing I want to do (especially after working on my dissertation).

I know no one really reads this thing, or really blogs anymore, but since I use it as my “journal” of sorts, I would like to attempt to at least blog about a few big events, just so I don’t forget all of the details

In the past week or so, I’ve been frantically working on editing/captioning/posting pictures from the past 5 months or so on Facebook (not even joking…I still hadn’t posted pictures from our Miami trip), so now that I’ve weeded most of them out and made them a little more manageable, I thought I would try to post here.

So, if I bombard your readers for the next week or so, my apologies…I’m just attempting to catch up

MS

22 years ago, I became a big sister…..

January 28, 1991

I remember dad picking me up from Kindergarten and telling me Josh had been born.  I could hardly contain my excitement as I gathered my stuff, and headed out the door, but not before I asked my Kindergarten teacher for an extra sticker for my new little brother.

The picture above was taken moments after getting to meet this new little man in my life.  Little did I know how this little guy would change my world for the better.  Although I was only 5, well 9 days shy of being 6, I remember walking in and seeing my mom holding my new little brother and begging to hold him.  Being 9 lbs, 8 oz and 21 inches long, he felt like he was almost as big as me, but mom let me “hold” him with her assistance (you can see her hand in the bottom left corner).  Although it looks like I am strangling him, I promise I wasn’t – in my mind, he was my own little living baby doll, and I’m sure I was trying to put him on my shoulder and gently tap him on the back just as I did my baby dolls.

As you can see, I was a very proud big sister that day, and I can honestly say that I am just as proud of him today, 22 years later.  Although our relationship has not always been perfect, I think he knows I would do anything for him (and I think he feels the same way about me). Words cannot express how thankful I am to have had the opportunity to see him grow into the smart, talented, sweet, and handsome man he has become and how blessed I feel to have been chosen to be his big sister.

January 28, 2013

He was and still is the best early birthday present I’ve ever gotten

Happy 22nd Birthday, Brother Bear!  Thanks for being the best little brother ever!  I love you!

In hopes of having some sort of accountability for my resolutions this year, I thought I’d write them out here.  Help me stick to them ok?

• Get back in shape:  Cliché…yes, BUT thanks to two rounds of steroids over the past few years, I have not only packed on 20 pounds, but I am flat out miserable.  I can’t lie and say I’m not partially doing it to look better (I have LOTS of big events coming up this year and I want to look good ), but I’m also doing it to feel better.  This one will be a tough one, but now that Alex is back in town, we’re going to work on it together.
• Be a better blogger:  I know that I don’t have many people who still read, but I look at this blog as sort of a journal.  With everything going on in my life right now, I forget all the little details.  I’m still kicking myself for not doing a better job keeping it up, because I’ve forgotten a lot already.  I’m not going to hold myself to a certain schedule, but I’m hoping to at least blog 1-2 times a week (hopefully more, though!)
• Finish my PhD:  Wow, that is a scary phrase to type, but far more doable than it seems.  Although I am at the mercy of my dissertation committee, and I might have to push graduation back to Spring 2014, I’m hoping to get everything done in time to graduate December 2013…whew!  We’ll see, but for now, I’m channeling “The Little Engine that Could”….”I think I can.  I think I can…”
• Spend more quality time with friends and family – I realize that to keep myself sane, I desperately need to take time for myself.  I’m hoping to have lunch with at least one friend a week, visit ALL of my close out of town friends at least once, and speak with my friends on a fairly often basis.  Emphasis on the word quality….hopefully no cell phones/e-mails/distractions during our visits/chats.
• Continue to work on my relationship with Alex:  As I’m sure you all know, relationships are work….even ones that have been going on for almost a decade.  Things between us are wonderful, but I want to keep it that way.  I’m excited about settling back into our old normal of seeing each other all the time and “dating” again…without getting sick of each other first, of course

 

Things to Look Forward to in 2013:

• BCS National Championship game in Miami NEXT WEEK!
• Baby Brother graduating in May
• 2 tech conferences at which I am presenting (New Orleans in March and San Antonio in June)
• My 10 year HS reunion (TBA)
• Celebrating 9 years of dating my sweet Alex (at least round 2 in college) in November
• HOPEFULLY becoming Dr. Slaten in December

Wishing you and yours much happiness and many blessings in 2013!

xo,

Maegan

I have been a horrible blogger this year (being a better one is one of my 2013 resolutions!), but I thought I’d at least write out my “Year in Review” so I don’t forget what all happened this year….and what a big year it was!

January:

• Rang in the new year with my sweetie
• Saw the Tide win #14 in New Orleans
• Threw a baby shower for my friend, Crystal and baby Colton
• Celebrated with family for baby bro’s 21st

February

• Presented to a group of master’s students with some colleagues of mine
• Celebrated my 27th birthday
• Had a gender reveal lunch with my friend Lauren (it’s a boy!)
• Celebrated Alex’s 27th birthday in Montgomery
• Attended a beautiful engagement party for our sweet friends, Nick & Kelse’

March 2012:

• Went to see “Wicked” with my sweetie
• Presented to a group of faculty
• Celebrated St. Patty’s day with Alex’s family in Decatur

April 2012:

• Attended (well, worked) Bama’s A-Day game
• Alex and I got to meet baby Hudson!
• Baby bro got inducted into yet another honor society
• The 27th marked one year since the deadly tornadoes

May 2012:

• Celebrated Mother’s Day in Montgomery (Josh had to take his MCAT there that weekend, so Mom and Dad came down to surprise him!)
• Went to Nashville to celebrate my sweet friend, Lauren’s graduation from med school!

June 2012:

• Attended Nick & Kelse’s wedding
• Worked lots of football camps
• Attended the wedding of my dear friend, Neika and her “prince” Sam
• Threw a couple’s shower for Lauren, Nick, and Baby Emerson
• Presented at the ISTE conference in San Diego (Baby E was born while we were there! )

July 2012:

• Celebrated Alex’s mom’s birthday in Nashville
• Went to the beach with our best friends, Casey and Taylor
• Went to Lexington to visit our friends Nick and Lauren and meet baby Emerson!
• Alex took me to a sushi dinner to tell me he was moving back to Tuscaloosa

August 2012:

• I went to Montgomery to help Alex pack up his apartment
• I was appointed to the University’s Information Technology Committee
• I began house-hunting for Alex and found one for him!

September 2012:

• Football season kicked off!!
• Alex got the keys to his new house, and slowly began moving his stuff in
• I stepped on a roofing tack in Alex’s backyard and had to go get a tetnus shot
• My college girlfriends came to town and for the first time in a long time, we all had a chance to get together!
• At the end of the month, Alex moved his last bit of stuff in to stick around for good

 

October 2012:

• Alex started working from Tuscaloosa on Oct. 1.  It was wonderful getting to work side by side
• We hosted our first “away game watching party” at Alex’s   We rarely got to watch away games together period so this was a real treat
• We had a Halloween get together at his house with lots of trick or treaters!

November 2012:

• Alex and I celebrated our 8th anniversary with a belated trip to our favorite restaurant in Tuscaloosa, Kozy’s (I was deathly sick so we had to push it back a week!)
• Football season ended with a bang!  We found out we were heading to the National Championship (as long as we beat Georgia in the SEC)

December 2012:

• We kicked off the month with a trip to Atlanta to see the Tide take home their 23rd SEC championship with a win against the Georgia bulldogs!
• We traveled to Florence to see Alex’s little brother get married
• We watched my “honorary little bro” (i.e. Josh’s best friend and our upstairs neighbor) graduate from UA
• I attended Christmas Eve service at Alex’s church with him and his family
• I celebrated Christmas with my family

Whew!  What a year!  Here’s hoping that 2013 is even better!

I’ve promised myself that now that I’ve started the dissertation process, I will do a better job documenting the journey.  Hopefully, I can keep that promise

I probably should start a new blog for this stuff, and I might eventually do so, but since it is a regular part of my life, I feel that it is “right at home” here on my life blog. 

As I mentioned in my previous post, I finally bit the bullet and submitted my dissertation prospectus.  After only one set of revisions, it was ready to go off to my committee!

After discussing dates with my chair today, I created a Doodle poll (seriously the best tool ever if you have to schedule anything with a group), and sent it, along with a copy of my prospectus, off to my committee today.  As of right now, we’re looking at the week of December 10-14, which is the last week of the semester, so here’s hoping I can get everyone involved.  I know that one of my professors, who is currently on sabbatical, cannot attend, but we planned for that, so all good there.

Over the next two weeks, I must do two things:

• Nail down a date for my prospectus proposal (in progress!)
• Come up with a lunch menu for them (my chair has a gluten-allergy, so I’m trying to come up with a gluten-free menu) (I have a few ideas on this as well )
• Create a presentation on my research
• Finally, come up with a little gifty thing for them.  I’m thinking that since it is right before Christmas, it would be appropriate to give them a little something to say thank you; especially since I am extremely close to them all and usually give them Christmas gifts anyway.  It will probably include some of my homemade Christmas candy, that I will be starting on soon!  I’ve had several professors tell me that bribery never hurts (of course, they were kidding), but I want to give them something to thank them for their commitment and mentorship.

Anyway, if you don’t mind, send me some happy thoughts over the next few weeks as I officially embark on this journey!   I’ll try to update as soon as I can

On November 10th, Alex and I celebrated our 8th dating (well, in college) anniversary.  Unfortunately, because I was sick all last week and we had the football game on our actual anniversary, we had to postpone our actual celebration to this past week.  It was well worth the wait, though!

This is the first year that we’ve decided not to do presents.  If you’ve been reading this blog for a while, you know that we have back-to-back “holidays” (Nov. 10 – Anniversary, Christmas, Feb. 6th – My birthday, Valentine’s Day, and Feb. 18th – Alex’s birthday), and the past few years, shopping for every single holiday has gotten more stressful that its worth and we end up getting each other something we don’t really need just to have a gift to give each other for each holiday.  Not to mention, November to March was an extremely expensive time   We decided that if we limited the gift giving to Christmas and Birthday’s, it would be much easier and we’d be able to give each other better quality gifts.  This year, we started with Valentine’s day (we decided to do cheap, and cliché Valentine’s gifts and it worked out well) and we decided to nix the presents for anniversary too.

Anyway, Alex wasn’t too happy about not doing presents this year, but he was a good sport.  I can’t say that I kept up my end either, because I felt like I, at least, needed to get him a card and decided to make one instead of buying it, just so he couldn’t give me a hard time..  I totally felt like he might actually NOT get me anything, but he proved me wrong!

When he showed up at my apartment to take me to dinner, he came bearing this:

Sweet, right?  Sneaky little devil

Anyway, he made my little homemade card (seriously, don’t judge…I made it in less than an hour ), look so sad…

especially since the note he wrote inside made me cry (but, it is for my eyes only…sorry! )

After I took the rollers out of my hair and put the finishing touches on the make-up, it was time for a quick photo op!

I love the first picture, but hate that we forgot to turn on the flash and the lighting is terrible SO you are getting my favorite, and then the pretty picture

Once pics were out of the way, we hopped in the car to head to dinner (which was a surprise until we got there!).  Alex quickly pointed out that he had cleaned his Jeep, inside and out, in preparation for our date that night….*sigh*  He’s too cute!

As we drove to our dinner location, Alex pointed out all of the “nice” places he was taking me…like McDonald’s, Wendy’s, Taco Casa, etc.  I had no idea where we were going until he turned in the direction of my favorite restaurant:  Kozy’s!  I was SO excited and could not wait to get there

We’ve been to Kozy’s a few times, but we had never been to eat off of their regular menu (most of the time it was for a special, pre fixe menu) so we were really excited.  It didn’t disappoint!

For appetizers, we had some delicious stuffed mushrooms (they were stuffed with beef tenderloin and aged swiss cheese and had a red wine demi-glace), and then I had chicken chasseur with truffle mashed potatoes and asparagas and Alex had a spiced duck breast with gouda grits and spinach.  Both entrees were absolutely delicious!  For dessert, we shared a crème brulee (without the carmelized sugar on top) with a berry compote.  It was yummy as well!

After dinner, we went back to his house to relax and catch up on Hulu.  Unfortunately, this girl only made it through one or two shows before she was out.  I know, terrible girlfriend right?  I felt so bad, but I doze off on Alex all the time, so I’m sure he’s come to expect it

Regardless of my early ending to the night, it was absolutely wonderful.  Huge thanks to Alex for making it special, without presents

Here’s to MANY more anniversary celebrations together!

Happy Anniversary, babe!  Love you lots!