I Moved!

Hey everyone! As of today, I've moved my blog over to WordPress.com.

The new website is: http://meghanwelch.wordpress.com

If you have me linked on your blog, please update the link.

I hope you enjoy the new site!

Tuesday Trivia

My summer job in high school and college was lifeguarding at our local park. One of the best parts of guarding were stormy days. I loved watching the storm front roll in and seeing that first flash of lightning that would allow us to close the pool! Once the pool was clear of swimmers, we would sit in the office, looking over Lake St. Clair and watch the storm pass by. I especially loved to watch the lightning. My favorite are the long bolts that were purple in color. A purple lightning bolt against a grey sky - beautiful!

Today's trivia is all about lightning! Did you know...

~ Lightning is one of the leading weather-related causes of death and injury in the U.S.?

~ Talking on the telephone is the leading cause of lightning injuries inside the home?

~ The Earth as a whole is struck by an average of over 100 lightning bolts per second?

~ The temperature of a typical lightning bolt is hotter than the surface of the sun?

Hey Hey Hockeytown!

Congratulations Detroit Red Wings!

2008 Stanley Cup Champions!

Special shout out to Dan Cleary. He is the first player from New Foundland, Canada to win the Stanley Cup!

I Want Stanley!

Well, it's just about game time for the Red Wings in game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final.

I'm not a huge sports fan, I need to know the teams that are playing in order to enjoy watching the game. I of course watch Notre Dame Football but in terms of pro sports, I enjoy watching the Detroit teams (Red Wings, Pistons and even the Tigers...can't do the Lions though).

I remember our 8th grade graduation dance. It was the night of one of the Red Wings Stanley Cup games and a lot of the girls were mad because all of the boys were in the cafeteria watching the game instead of dancing. The Wings went on to win the cup in 1997, their first Stanley Cup since 1955!

Monday night was game 5 of this series against Pittsburgh and the Wings were up 3 games to 1. The game was at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit and was the perfect place for them to win the cup. Again, I'm not a huge sports fan, but this was a big and exciting game so I had to watch. The Wings played well and went from being down 0-2 to being very close to a win with a score of 3-2. Everyone thought the Wings had the game in the bag, but with just 34 seconds left in the game Pittsburgh scored to send the game into overtime. I ended up going to bed at 12:15am after the second overtime and Pittsburgh won the game in the third overtime! UGH!

I'm hoping the Wings win tonight. Let's just cross our fingers that it's not in the 3rd overtime!

Tuesday Trivia

Did you know...

The sentence "the quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog" uses every letter in the English language?

The average human eats 8 spiders in their lifetime at night? (just disgusting!)

A rhinoceros horn is made of compacted hair?

Donald Duck comics were banned in Finland because he doesn't wear pants?

China has more English speakers than the United States?

A crocodile cannot stick its tongue out?

I'm gonna keep my eye on you shorty!

Lost is AMAZING!!!

Last night's season finale was just awesome. Penny and Desmond were reunited, we got to see how the Oceanic 6 were rescued, we saw the island get sucked up into the ocean (it was moved by Ben) and so many more fantastic things happened. Awesome.

If you're a fan of the show, below are a couple links to some reviews by E! and Entertainment Weekly. Both are worth the read:

Watch With Kristen - E!

TV Watch - Entertainment Weekly

(The title of the post is a quote by Rose to Miles from last night's episode)

Update!

It's been a while since I've posted, so I figured it was time for an update.

My mom stopped by on her way back from Charleston a couple weeks ago on Mother's Day. We took her out to a nice dinner and got to spend the evening with her before she left for home the next day. It was another short visit, but it was so nice to see her again and spend time with her - especially on Mother's Day.

Last weekend, thanks to Grandpa Welch, Eric, Jessi and I flew back to Canfield for a visit with Mom and Dad Welch. We arrived late Friday night and Maggie (their great dane) was so excited to see us. On Saturday we slept in a bit and had a relaxing morning before the three of us picked up Grandpa for lunch. We feasted on Jib-Jab (the best hot dog shop ever!) and had a nice visit. Later we went to see the new Indiana Jones movie. It was pretty good, but I was a little disappointed with the ending (I'm not a fan of alien movies). Sunday we went for a nice walk at a park, visited Angels for Animals, had a picnic lunch and then a nice bonfire at night. Before we knew it, Monday was here and it was time to fly back to Charlotte. I can't believe how fast the weekend went, but we had a really nice time.

We've had Madison with us now for a year. It was Memorial Day last year that we took her for her first visit to the vet. She is now growing from a kitten to a cat and she definitely has a unique personality. She makes me laugh every day. She loves to play with bottle caps. We started playing fetch with them, but she doesn't bring them all the way back anymore. She also loves twist-ties and the plastic seals from milk jugs. Needless to say we haven't had to spend a lot of money on toys for her. Recently, she has found some favorite spots for her naps. I hope you enjoy the pictures below:

Tuesday Trivia

Today's trivia comes courtesy of my sister, Katie, and Wikipedia:

Did you know that Stevie Wonder was born in Saginaw, Michigan?

Stevie was born premature and was put into an incubator. Because too much oxygen was let into the incubator, cataracts grew behind each eye leaving Stevie blind for life.

Stevie signed with Motown Records at age 12 and continues to perform for the label today.

Stevie plays a multitude of instruments: piano, synthesizer, talk box, harmonica, congas, drums, bongos, bass guitar, organ, melodica and clarinet.

The Boys Are Back...

Woo-hoo!! New Kids on the Block are back!! I'm so mad I missed their performance this morning on the Today Show, but I at least got to see it online!

I'm Fifty!

Not me (although I'm halfway there), my blog! This is my fiftieth post on this site. Nothing huge, I know, but a milestone none-the-less.

Let's see, what's been going on this week...

Well, on Sunday I decided to dress up for church and wear a sundress with sandals. While the sandals were high heeled, they are only about an inch and a half or so, not too bad. Well, I should have taken in to account the fact that I was going to be on my feet for about eight hours that day...my dogs were barkin' when I got home. Since I work from home and don't usually wear heels anymore, my feet were sore for about 2 days! I'm just not used to those things anymore!

On Tuesday we attended the Movement meeting with the leaders of Elevation. I love those nights. I love our church. I love the people I get to serve with each week. I love our Pastor. I love hearing him speak, knowing that he is speaking the word of God to us each week. I wish we could have a service every night of the week. I could listen to Pastor preach for hours (and I'm sure he could do it too!)

We don't have a whole lot planned for this weekend. My mom is stopping here for the night on Sunday, on her way home from Charleston, so tomorrow is cleaning day! Hopefully, if it doesn't rain tonight, Eric and I can go biking tomorrow! I'm so excited to get back on the trails!

Tuesday Trivia

Did you know...

...that half of all Americans over the age of 55 have no teeth?

...that when you walk down a hill, the pressure on your knees is equal to 3 times your body weight?

...that if you are bitten by a poisonous snake and fail to receive medical attention, you will still have a 50% chance of survival?

The Finger Saga and Other Notes

Well, I know ya'll are dying to know how my finger is doing...so I'll just give you a little update. I saw the doctor on Tuesday, and I improved my range of motion by 20 degrees in both of my knuckles! Also, my swelling went down a lot! He's happy with how things are going and I should be healed in a few months (hopefully). I had my physical therapy on Wednesday and my therapist said my finger was looking a lot better. I got some more exercises to do and I have one more appointment with her in two weeks. Hopefully that will be my last appointment and then I'll be on my own. I'm hoping within the next 4-5 months I will be back to normal. The doctor said I have a good chance that my knuckle will go down to the size it was before, but I'm preparing myself to have a larger size knuckle when all is said and done.

My mom is spending the next week in Charleston, SC with my great aunt Katie, so she drove down yesterday and is spending a couple nights here with us. I was able to take a day off of work and we were able to have a really nice day of shopping together. We hit the usual TJ's and Marshalls and of course Talbots. The visit has been really nice so far, and Maddy hasn't been too bad. She's really not used to a lot of people in the apartment (and by a lot I mean more than just Eric and I), so she's not very social. We've had a few moments of bad behavior, but as long as we leave her alone she's fine.

Well, I'm just chillin' waiting for Lost to come on. Last week's episode was FANTASTIC and I'm really looking forward to tonight's as well. I really want to learn more about Ben and Charles W's relationship. What the heck is going on??

Tuesday Trivia

~ Colgate's first toothpaste came in a jar

~ Giraffes are unable to cough

~ Only female mosquitoes bite and drink blood

~ The average lifespan of a hermit crab is 75 years!

Recurring Dreams

Do you have a recurring dream? Mine is that I'm back in high school. Three things usually happen in each dream: 1) I forget my locker combination and have to go to the office everyday to see what it is, 2) I'm always skipping a class (not intentionally, when the dream starts I'm a few months into the year and I have never been to the class), and 3) I forget to do an assignment or put it off to the very last minute.

On average, I would say I have this dream about once every month or every couple months. It's always the same scenario. The major theme in the dream is usually one of the 3 instances listed above. I had this dream again last night and it was a combination of #2 and #3. The class I was skipping last night was Math class and the assignment I was putting off was two essays for an English class. In the dream I was walking down the hall and my teacher passed by, Mrs. Kopec (she was actually my 6th grade homeroom/math/social studies teacher), and she asked how the essays were going. I said good because I didn't want to get in trouble, but in my mind I was stressing out because I had forgotten about them!

I don't know why I keep having this dream. It's been seven years since I've been in high school, so it's not like I'm stressed about a new year starting. I'm three years out of college and have no plans for grad school, so it's not like I'm stressing about that. So why am I having this dream? Why am I still, even subconsciously, thinking/worrying about these circumstances? Maybe I need to get more organized in my life? In each of the scenarios I'm forgetting something, whether it's a locker combination, a class or an assignment. Am I really stressing about what's going on in my life now and I'm worried that I'm going to forget something?

Maybe it's time that I get a remembrall. The only problem is, I can't remember what I've forgotten.

Tuesday Trivia

Today's trivia is provided by nicefacts.com:

~ 80% of millionaires drive used cars
~ A lion's roar can be heard from more than 5 miles away
~ The placement of a donkey's eyes in its' head enables it to see all four feet at all times
~ The U.S. has more bagpipe bands than Scotland does
~ 15% of Americans secretly bite their toes (ew!)

One Year

A year ago today, Eric and I were married in Detroit, Michigan. I can't believe how fast this year has gone by! We have had such an amazing year down here in Charlotte. I love every day I get to spend with Eric. After 3 and a half years of long distance dating, it is so nice to be able to be with him every day. I love learning more about him each day.

Eric, I love you with all of my heart. Thank you for being such a caring, supportive and loving husband.

Ramblings

What a gorgeous day it was today! Too bad I had to work all day and couldn't really go out and enjoy the beautiful weather. I did have all of the windows open though and the birds were chirpin' all day!

A while back I wrote this post about my injured finger. Well, nine weeks have now passed, the finger is still swollen and I am now in physical therapy to get the mobility back. I went in on Wednesday morning to meet my therapist. The office is right down the road from us and my therapist is super nice. She did an evaluation, did some strength tests, had an ultra sound treatment done to help with the circulation and had a nice little finger massage. She determined that I need to go in once a week for about 6 weeks and continue to do some exercises at home. They are going well so far, but it's still going to take up to 6 months for this finger to heal! I'm just looking forward to the day that I can wear my wedding band again!

Eric and I had a gift certificate from Dell from our recent computer purchase, so we cashed it in for a webcam. It came yesterday and boy did we have some fun with it! I was laughing/crying so hard for like twenty minutes as we played with the different features of the camera.

Those are just a small sample of what we took the other day. Our real intention for getting the camera is so that we can talk to our parents through the computer and actually see them! Eric was on Skype for a while yesterday talking with one of his friends in Ohio. I can't wait to test it out myself!

Tuesday Trivia

Did you know...

~ Maine is the toothpick capital of the world

~ Des Moines has the highest per capita Jello consumption in the U.S.

~ Pinocchio is Italian for "pine head"

Confessions of a Boy Band fan

I admit, I am a boy band fan. My love for boy bands began when I was in first grade and discovered the New Kids on the Block. I had a New Kids pillowcase, some books, a watch, a towel, tapes and of course the trading cards. I had about 200 trading cards! I remember my mom would punish me when I was being a brat by taking away 5 cards at a time. Of course she knew that Joey McIntyre was my favorite and those were the first ones to go. Sad, I know, but I would cry when she took them away.

Then around 7th/8th grade came Hanson. I had the biggest crush on Taylor, the middle one/lead singer. I still love listening to MMMBop and even their new songs are good. I also thought it was cool that Taylor's birthday is on March 14, only 3 days before mine!

Shortly after Hanson, NSYNC and the Backstreet Boys arrived on scene. You were either a fan of one or the other and I was loyal to NSYNC. I remember watching the NSYNC's 100 favorite videos special on MTV with my sister and learning the choreography to their songs. I also had the Official NSYNC book. Actually, I had two copies: one I bought myself and the other was a gift. One day, I was bored so I cut out all of the pictures of Chris from one of the books and taped them all over my sister, Mary's room. She found this hilarious and the pictures were passed back and forth between rooms for about a week. (I know, we are pretty easily amused!)

Along the way I fell in love with the British boy bands too: 5ive and BBMak. I was able to see BBMak in concert at the Michigan State Fair in downtown Detroit one year. That was a pretty sweet concert. However, my favorite British boy band is 5ive. I own two of their videos: one is about the band and a collection of their music videos and the second is a concert from their second album. Mary and I frequently watched these as well. 5ive was supposed to open at one of the NSYNC concerts we went to, but unfortunately they did not show up.

Anyways, today it was announced that the New Kids on the Block are reuniting! There is a bunch of info on their site NKOTB.com and this fall they are going to go on tour! I remember in the first grade my teacher, Mrs. Hea, took her daughter to see them and all of us girls were so jealous (well, I was anyways). If they make their way to the Charlotte area, I may just have to buy a ticket and go!

Crowned

I don't know about you, but one of the worst pains for me is a tooth pain. I hate feeling any pain in my teeth. Obviously, this mostly applies when I am actually at the dentist. Regular cleanings are fine, but I've had my share of fillings over the years. A few weeks ago I had my first visit with my new dentist down here and the hygienist looked in my mouth and said, "Well, you're no stranger to the dentist, eh?" No ma'am I'm not, but just because I've had multiple fillings does not mean I'm used to them. Anyways, I found out that day that one of my molars was fracturing and that I would need a crown. Ok, not the best thing I'd like to hear, but I've had one before. The previous crown was due to a root canal and, compared to the root canal experience, the crown was nothing. I went in for all of the drilling and stuff two weeks ago and everything went fine. Although apparently I was very expressive in my eyes; the hygienist said that I had a look of terror on my face. And, when the hygienist put in the temporary crown that day, she decided to floss around it too! This was not the smartest idea as the crown popped right off. This meant that I had to stay an extra 20 minutes so they could remove the old cement, put in the new one, let it sit and finish it up.

Today I went in for the permanent crown (it takes two weeks for it to be made). I get in the chair and the first question the hygienist asks is, "Do you want to be numbed?" Ummm, yes please!! She said that some people when they are getting the permanent one don't want to be numbed for it. Um, ok, I'd rather be numb in my gums all day than feel an ounce of paid during this procedure. I'm sure glad I got the shot too! After the dentist gave me the shot and took off the temporary crown, the hygienist came around and started to clean the old cement off. She started scraping and I could feel it a little bit but it wasn't terrible, then she blasts a burst of cold air on the tooth and I jerked my head away and let out a grunt of pain. She said, "Ok, well, let's just let that sit a bit and let the medicine take effect." Oh man, that one hurt, it felt like she got me right on the nerve. She left the room and I just prayed to God that I get through the rest of this visit without feeling a thing. Thank the Lord my prayers were answered! She came back about five minutes later and blew some air on the tooth and rinsed with some water and I did not feel anything! The rest of the appointment went well and I now have my new tooth.

I told Eric today that if this were twenty years ago, he'd have a wife with two gold teeth!