We were traveling along Santiam Pass, enjoying the wet drive, listening to The Shack on Sam's iPod, and all of the sudden we saw a rock fly towards our direction and hit our windshield... and the cracking hasn't stopped since.

Being the emotional person I am, quite a few tears were shed over this little crack that kept growing. We tried to take it to Jiffy Lube to see if they could repair the windshield, but that was a no-go due to the crack - boo! So instead of repairing it, we were told we had to have the whole windshield replaced. The whole freaking windshield. Once again, the tears came and Sam told me it would be okay.

Now, 2 days later, we have an appointment to get the windshield replaced and pay the nice company $260 and then our windshield will once again be whole. Definitely a bummer deal, but it's just things and money and in the long run, all that matters is that Sam and I are safe.

This weekend we went to Bend.
Since Sam and I had to work the day after Christmas, it didn't make sense to travel to Bend for Christmas eve/day this year, so we went this weekend. We thought it would be best, since my mom had nothing going on and my brother was home from school. At the last minute, Dan decided to go to the coast with his girlfriend's family, so it was just my mom, Sam, and I.

It only took 3 hours to make it over the pass, but the roads were not pleasant. They were covered with snow and little gravel. I said a little prayer that we'd make it over the pass and we did, safe and sound! When we got to Bend, Sam and I were starving so we took my mom out to Red Robin and had a nice lunch together. Then we hit the Old Mill shops and made our way home. When we got home, we opened our presents and watched a few Christmas movies. My mom made a delicious dinner with all the trimmings - ham, stuffing, mashed potatoes, salad, and rolls. We definitely ate too much! Another Christmas movie and some dessert ended the night. The next morning was pretty lazy. My mom went over and above for breakfast too - we're spoiled when we see her! We left around 12pm to make it over the pass before anything got too bad. It only took 2 1/2 hours back, which wasn't bad. The bad part was when a flying rock decided to hit my windshield... bummer deal! I've driven back and forth over the pass for over 6 years and I've been lucky enough not to have any windshield damage until today.

Besides the windshield ordeal, the weekend was great. I was sad to leave my mom, but can't wait to see her again soon (I hope). Thanks mom!

6 months ago...
...I was Meaghan Fischer.
...I was spending my last days of a single woman with 3 of my best friends and a handful of family.
...I was finishing all the little details I had been planning for the previous year.
...I was finally getting the butterflies in my stomach.
...I couldn't stop smiling.
...I married my best friend!

Sometimes I think back and I can't believe we've already been married for 6 months. Yes, it's not a lot, but we've had quite a few "firsts" that we'll always remember:
New homes; New jobs; Halloween; Thanksgiving; Christmas.
And although the firsts are becoming less, we have a lifetime of milestones to remember and I can't wait!

A magical view huh? I sure loved it.
This was taken last night (Christmas Eve) at my in-law's home in Sandy, Oregon and it was beautiful! We didn't have such a nice drive over to their house, but once we were inside, we didn't want to leave.

Our adventure began around 2:30pm when we left Salem to head to Sandy. If you remember, we originally tried this on Sunday, but turned around 15 miles into the trip. This time, we were pretty determined to get the job done and be with family for the holidays. We researched some alternate routes to avoid both traffic and bad weather and took our chances. It was definitely slow going, but 3 hours later and no chains used, we made it! Sam's parents live on a steep hill and we were advised to avoid it if possible, so we parked at a restaurant down the road and were graciously picked up by Sam's dad. And boy was I happy we didn't try to make it into their driveway... SCARY!

We walked into the home and were instantly greeted with smells of homemade cinnamon rolls & pizza... good smells! After dinner and some preparation for Christmas morning breakfast, we played games and watched out the in-law's picture window as cars attempted to get up the hill... the success rate was not that high. Before we knew it, we were all falling asleep and retreated to bed.

Christmas morning came early, about 8am, and we were all up and looking sleepy. Sam's brother had been at his parents for a few days already and Sam's sister and brother-in-law came over for Christmas festivities. After we opened presents, we ate a delicious breakfast made my Sam's parents. There was so much food and good conversation, it lasted a while. Of course games followed breakfast (I married into a game-loving family) and since all the boys got knew games, we tried them all out. Shortly after the games, Sam and I decided to head home since it had began snowing and didn't look like it was going to let up. We couldn't afford to get snowed in, since we both had to work the next day, so we packed up and headed out. The trip home was much quicker and uneventful and we were home in only an hour and half.

After we unpacked the car, we ventured out to find something for Christmas dinner (since we missed Christmas dinner with Sam's family). To our suprised, everything was closed. EVERYTHING! We ventured down our main street and found lots of dark stores. Finally we found, probably, the only place open on Christmas night - Burger King. Not a good Christmas dinner, but it did the job and fed two hungry people. But I'll tell you, we're still craving ham, stuffing, mashed potatoes, and fudge. Maybe we'll have to make all of that soon.

Sam and I definitely loved being able to spend Christmas with family, but wished it wasn't so short. As we drove home, we both turned to each other and said, "Christmas feels weird this year." Who knows if it's the snow. Or it's that we live farther away and have to work the next day. Or that it's our first Christmas and we're not in a "routine" yet. Like I said, who knows. But the time spent with loved ones is always cherished and enjoyed.

Our next Christmas is this weekend... Bend here we come!

Merry Christmas!
love, the Grables

The snow hasn't left yet... am I starting to sound like a broken record? Because I am beginning to feel like it. And while others love the snow, I'm not a fan. All this snow is becoming record breaking for the Portland area and is quietly ruining plans left and right.

Today, being Monday, was not an ordinary day. My supervisor called me last night to tell me that we were on a bit of a delay and could come in at 11am (you may ask, "why couldn't you have a snow day?" and my reply is "who knows..."). With all the snow that happened overnight, I was a little worried I wouldn't be able to make it out of my driveway. So I got up at 8 and shoveled the snow so I could get out of my driveway. Sam came out and helped too, even though he had a snow day. Then I got ready for work and headed out the door. There were only 4 people in my 10 people department, but work went quick and before I knew it it was 2pm and I was released to go home. I then braved it to Fred Meyers to pick up a few things for dinner and a box of popsicles for my friend Kristi because she had her wisdom teeth out today. When I got home, Sam and I leashed up the dogs and headed down the street to the Weathers home. I thought it would be nice to take the dogs on a walk, but they quickly froze and Sam picked them up and carried them the last part of the walk (see picture above) - it was pretty cute! We dropped the popsicles off and headed back home, quickly.

Now we're home, warm, and full of homemade potato soup (mmm, so good!). Who knows what we'll wake up to tomorrow, but hopefully we'll figure out what our plans for Christmas will be, because things look very unsure right now.

So, we didn't make it to Sandy. We actually only made it 15 miles outside of Salem before we turned around and headed back home. I was very bummed. I knew it was bad out there, but I was trying to convince myself that it wasn't as bad as they were saying, but it is. Now I'm worried about Christmas eve... we're suppose to go to Sandy to spend the night with Sam's family, but that might not happen due to the weather. When realizing this, I believe my words were, "Now there will be no Christmas!" Maybe a little dramatic, but I want to be with family on Christmas. Once again, snow = no good.

Because of my sadness, we went to Lowes and bought a tree. We had originally been waiting until after Christmas for the sales, but we ended up getting one for 50% off and it made me feel a little better. We brought it home and I decorated it with my ornaments (Sam's are still at his parents) and love the way it looks. Matt even had the idea of the family coming down to Salem for Chirstmas since we can't make it up there. We'll see what happens...

Last weekend I mentioned we were getting some snow, but this week proved to be worse than most my years in Bend... at least as far as I can remember. We're snowed in... kind of. There has been a mix of snow/rain/ice for the last seven days and I'm kind of sick of it. Shoot me, but I'm not a snow person... that's why I moved away from Bend (not really, but let's pretend for the sake of the post, okay?), the snow capital of Oregon.

Unfortunately, I had to work all week. ALL week! While most businesses in the Salem/Portland area were closed or delayed, I was working away in my cubicle. We did have a day that we left at 3:30pm instead of 4:30pm, but I don't count that. Then there was the day that I went to work at 7:30am and was informed at 8:00am that we didn't have to be there until 10:00am. Whatever! I got through the day and it's the weekend.

On Saturday, Sam & I decided we wouldn't go anywhere because of the snow/rain/ice. It really worked. We had a good, warm day at home and got SO much done - Yay for productivity! We cleaned, we cooked, we worked out, and I even got a nice hot bath in. Sam's brother, Matt, came to spend the night at our house so we could all attend the Edgren Family Christmas Party in Sandy on Sunday, but snow was once again ruining our plans... back to that later. Anyways, we ate some dinner and then headed down the road to the Weather's house for some game show action. The walk there was beautiful - despite the large amounts of snow/rain/ice. The walk home, however, was still beautiful, but with a bit more ice. Make that a sheet of ice covering EVERYTHING.

Now it being Sunday & all, we're still not sure we'll make it to Sandy, but I think we might try. Being from Bend, I've grown used to having to have snow (studded) tires on my car, but never thought I'd have to have them on in the Valley. We'll see how this little adventure goes... stay tuned!

Tis the Season...

Our Charlie Brown-like Christmas tree.

One of my favorite Christmas decorations.

Before the storm...

Hot chocolate + each other = a good Sunday afternoon.
(Our mugs read "I DO" & "ME TOO", too cute!)

WHAT?!? I thought I moved away from this white stuff... not a fan at all!

I love the Christmas season, but I don't like going anywhere in snow like this... too bad we've got a week full of work ahead of us...

Meet Buster.
He was given to us by Sam's uncle Andy & aunt Gina,
when they no longer could keep him.
Could you say no to that face? We sure couldn't.

He's been a lot of fun to get to know. We've definitely had our ups & downs with him and we're still working on getting him fully trained, but he's SO cute!

His newest trick is pretty cool. We have an old rocking chair that my grandma re-purposed for us in our front room. For the longest time it just sat in the corner and was only used when we needed extra seating, but not anymore.
A couple weeks ago, we were watching TV and didn't know where Buster was. As we were looking around, Sam told me to look at the rocking chair and there he was, sitting pretty in his chair. Who would of thought he would enjoy it so much? Not us. We love it!

There are days when we want to send him away because he jumping on the walls (literally), but then he looks at us and our hearts melt.
He sure is one of the cutest dog I've ever seen!

Today is a special day I remember every year. It's an anniversary that will always hold a lot of specialness to me. Let's go back to 2004 & 2006...

December 10, 2004:

Preface: I was going to school at George Fox University and having a awesome/very trying (in a good way) sophomore year - opposed to my next to terrible time my freshman year held. I had the best roommate, whom I had learned so much about and grown to love almost instantly (shoutout to Kelly!). I had declared my major and was really excited to learn about Business Administration. I had recently gotten out of a relationship that was pretty toxic, but broke my heart in a million pieces. I had fallen asleep at the wheel while driving home for the weekend and rolled down a steep hill-my beautiful VW Beetle was totaled, but I (luckily) walked away with only some scratches & a few stitches on my right index finger. My life had taken a much different route than I ever imagined and had no idea what was coming next.
Enter Sam. Sam was a senior at George Fox and lived with a bunch of the guys I had met my freshman year. When the girls would go hang out with the McGrew house boys, Sam was usually in attendance. I hadn't thought much about him, but that he was a nice guy and easy to talk to (once you got to know him... he's pretty shy/quiet at first).

Back to the night of December 10, 2004: my roommate was having performing in an acting showcase and I had invited Sam along to join me. Kelly did a wonderful job in her TEN,TEN,TEN performance (a play on it being the 10th and the time it began was 10pm and there were 10 performances all together). After smoozing with the actress =), Sam walked me back to my dorm room. Right before I went in, Sam told me he had to tell me something. He said, "I like you". I was caught off guard. I knew what he meant, but didn't expect it. I told him that I needed more time, but wanted to get to know him better. I'm sure he thought I'd blow him off, but that wasn't what I wanted to do. I really did want to get to know him better. And that's just what we did. Instead of group dates, Sam and I spent more time getting to know each other on a more one-to-one basis.

Flash forward to December 10, 2006:

Preface: Sam and I had got to know each other and had officially been dating for about a year and a half. He'd been my rock through a lot of hard times that one goes through. I could not have asked for anyone more kind & gentle in my life. Sam & I knew we wanted to get married, but due to some circumstances, we were going to wait a until 2008 to get married. Prior to this knowledge, Sam had gone and picked out my ring. I was anxious to see it, but knew Sam would pick the perfect moment to present it to me. I had told my roommate/best friend/Kelly that she had to have her phone on all all times in case Sam proposed and she assured me she would. Little did I know, she knew when it was happening the whole time...

Again, back to the night of December 10, 2006: Sam & I weren't going to be able to spend Christmas together this year, so we decided to celebrate Christmas a little early and spend the day in Portland having lunch and seeing a movie. After a drizzly day in the city, we decided to head back to my apartment to exchange gifts. This completely threw me off because I thought if Sam was going to propose he would do it by going somewhere during the day, so I thought it probably wasn't going to happen. But boy was I wrong! When we got to the apartment, I first gave Sam his present which was Seinfeld season 7. Then Sam gave me mine, a new Bible engraved 'Meaghan Grable' (my married name), which oddly didn't give me any clue whatsoever... at least not until Sam turned to me and said "there's more..." and he got down on one knee and pulled out the ring. I was shocked and before Sam had completed "Will you marry me?" I was already saying yes!

I couldn't have asked for a better date to remember two special times in Sam & I's relationship. I'm so thankful for his thoughtfulness and for loving me all the time!

I love you Sam and Happy "I like you/Engagement" Anniversary!!!

My brother-in-law turned 29 today!
Happy Birthday Josh! Way to be almost 30 - YAY!
love,
your one & only sister =)

THEY'RE BACK!!!
Yup, my Thailand girls have returned, safe & sound. I only got to see them for a little bit tonight when they flew in because there were a lot of people wanting their attention, but my time will come. It was definitely a sight for sore eyes and made my heart very happy.
I can't wait to hear their stories and try and imagine what they've experienced for the last year.

I love you both, Kelly & Brittany. You are two of the strongest women I have ever met! Everyone should know these two, they're awesome!

Happy (late) Thanksgiving!

It feels like Sam & I have been running around for the last week and I'm sure it won't slow down until after the holidays.

Monday: both of us worked and then I had an interview... don't want to jinx anything, so that's all I'll say.

Tuesday: work once again, but we came home to lovely visitors - my mom & grandma. They were on their way to my grandma's brother's house and made a stop to see our home. We enjoyed pizza & Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2.

Wednesday: I worked all day, but worried about Sam because he was home sick. I took care of him after work and he even mustered up energy to help me bake 2 apple pies (pictured above) and apple scones.

Thursday: we originally thought we'd be able to sleep in on our only day off, but our plans changed. We got up early and drove to Sandy to have a Grable family breakfast with Phil, Donna, Laura, & Matt. It was delicious and very good company. Then we ventured over to Sam's aunt's house and visited for an hour before we had to get on the road to our next Thanksgiving - my grandma's sister's house. After an hour in the car, we arrived, but were both not feeling well so we weren't much fun. We did enjoy a delicious dinner, but had to scoot out before dessert since we were both working early the next morning. We arrived back home and went right to bed.

Friday: Sam worked his half day and I worked a full day. I would have done the "Black Friday Shopping Event", but I'm not sure I could have done it & worked a full day, so I passed on it. Friday night was our night to watch our recorded shows, which was a nice restful evening.

Saturday: Another early morning at the Grable house as we thought we had a only one more nice day to finish painting the inside of our garage. We got a lot of it done and are happy with the way it looks. We'll have to finish it off another day, but it will work for the time being. After painting, I made a pumpkin pie for Sam since we missed out on any desserts on Thursday. Another plus was that Elf was on TV on Saturday and we watched it while I unpacked our Christmas decorations and put them up. We haven't bought a tree yet because we're planning on buying a fake tree when we find a good deal - we might have to wait until next Christmas to start our tree traditions.

Sunday (today): we went to church and came home for a day of rest. I was able to sign, stuff, & address our Christmas cards - a job I was putting off for a few weeks. Sam made a delicious meal of brown rice & orange chicken, so good! And although we aren't ready for another week of work, we'll take it nonetheless.

We hope you had a good Thanksgiving with family and friends. Happy Hollidays!

Today was deemed "domestic day" by yours truly.
My mom and grandma are coming over the mountain on Tuesday (depending on weather) and I wanted the house to be clean & homey. I think I succeeded.
I started the morning early (7:30am) with a batch of pumpkin scones, which were delicious. Then it was on to cleaning - vacuuming, dusting, cleaning toilets, and doing laundry. I love the way a clean house looks & smells. Plus, I feel like a grown up, ha!

Tomorrow we're headed to Sandy for the Sandy Baptist Annual Harvest Dinner with Sam's parents, sister and brother-in-law. We're excited for good food and family time!

Yay for a short week of work! I only get Thursday off, but I'll take what I can get. We can't wait to spend time with both my side of the family and Sam's side of the family. We'll be traveling from Salem to Vancouver to Sandy, then back home. It will be a long day, but definitely worth it!

Well, I just filled my stomach with Papa Murphy's pizza and now I'm ready for a Saturday night with my husband and our cuddly puppies. Good night!

Happy Friday!
After a full week of work, I couldn't be happier that it's the weekend.
Plus, I'm starting it off with a new hair cut!

Hope you have a good weekend!

I miss these three girls. Period. Sometimes I think to myself, how did I get so lucky to meet these amazing women? Thank you George Fox for bringing us all together.

On the left is Bethany, my travel mate. Although she's been all over the world, the two missions trips I took in college were with Bethany and I'm not too sure I would have made it through them without her. She's always the one passing you the "are you ok?" smile and I love it... makes me feel ok =). Currently, Bethany is working with Invisible Children, a passion of hers from some time now.

In the middle, we have Kelly, my best friend. We met our freshman year and were roommates sophomore, junior, & senior year. We've been through ups & downs, but still grew closer together in the end. As I type, Kelly is finishing up her last month in Thailand, working with women coming out of the sex trade industry.

And on the right leaves Chelsea. We met my junior year, her sophomore year, while helping with the homeless on Friday nights. There was something instant between us - we just clicked. I think there is something about us both being hopeless romantics and scaredy cats. Chelsea is over in Uganda, Africa at the moment, using her major (social work) to help those in need.

That's right, I admire my friends who are completely self-less and giving everything they have to those who need it most. I miss them every day, but know that we'll all be together again someday. I love you Bethany, Kelly, & Chelsea! Keep on keeping on... You three are awesome!

What a nice day it was today. No rain + sunshine = nice day!
Sam & I decided it would be nice to take the puppies to a new park and wear them out. Except we forgot the fact that they are not good around other people or dogs - they bark at EVERYTHING! Yup, not too much fun. Holding the dogs (as pictured above) was one of the only ways to get them to keep quiet, so a lot of our walk went like this. We did wear them out though. They came home and cuddled with us all afternoon. Luckily we had good movies on TV and we let them sleep & us rest.
It sure was a beautiful day and another experience to mark in the books, but I'm not sure how quick we'll take them out again...

This dog got his nails trimmed this morning... more drama than necessary.
His nails seemed to be growing at an alarming rate and before we knew it, he'd probably be in the Guinness Book of World Records - they were THAT long.
Following some biting, whining, and bleeding, the job was done and now the nails are much shorter.
After Buster's nail appointment, we stopped for a "day off" Starbucks and then went grocery shopping. We had a simple lunch of grilled cheese and I cleaned our bathroom shower. Tonight, we're making a rainy day dinner of noodles, sauce, & chicken, as well as homemade sourdough bread - yum!
Hope you're all having a good Veteran's Day - thank you to all the Veterans out there.

This weekend, Sam & I decided to use our kitchen a little more than usual. We gathered all the ingredients and went to work. Sam made us a delicious lasagna from scratch, but sadly, I didn't get a picture of it... I wanted to eat it too quickly. Sam used to make me Italian dishes from scratch when we were dating, but he hadn't since we've been married. I almost forgot how good of a cook he was =) As a thank you, I decided that I would make something for Sam - a homemade apple pie! He loved it and went back for seconds, possibly thirds. It felt good making something he liked so much.

Now we're gearing up for another week of work. Luckily we both have Tuesday off (Veterans Day), so we have a shorter week ahead of us. Yay!

I finally filled out my ballot tonight. I know, I know... it's taken long enough. Part of me feels like I am just one person, how big of a difference can I make. But the other part of me feels like this is a privilege that I should definitely take advantage of. So that's what I did. Now I just need to drop it off tomorrow, Election Day.
At church on Sunday, Pastor Randy really made a good point about everyone needing to just pray for whomever will be our next President & Vice President. No matter if they are the one you wanted in office or not, they need prayer because of the position they are about to embark on.
May the best one win...

November, already?
Hard to believe, but we are well on our way to the end of the year.

Yesterday was our sister Laura's birthday. The family arrived around 11:30am and we caught up and hung out. Laura opened her presents (one shown above) and we all partook in a few of her birthday cookies (she decided she wanted cookies instead of cake). We had hoped that the weather would hold up for one more day so we could venture to Silver Falls Park and luckily, it did! We made our way out there and had a beautiful walk/hike around several of the falls. There was even some prime opportunities for family pictures.

After we had enough walking, we drove back and cooked pizza and played games. Matt, Josh, & Laura all went home, but Donna & Phil stayed the night and went to church this morning. It was nice to show them where we've been attending since we've been living in Salem. They also got to see Kristi play the piano for worship and it was great!

Happy Halloween!

As it being our first (married) Halloween, Sam & I are currently sitting at home and watching Grey's Anatomy (DVR'ed from last night) - I love it! We are also being "grown up" and waiting by the door for cute little trick-or-treaters. Unfortunately, we have only received 2. For some, that is a lot, but we live by a elementary school and I thought we'd get a few more. It is still early, so we'll see.

My department at work dressed up as "cops & robbers" - really it was cops & inmates, but what the difference, right? It was fun, but I'll be happy to go back to my normal clothes next week.

Tomorrow we are having the Grables & Morgans over for a birthday celebration for the sister (in-law) Laura. The original plan was to go to Silver Falls for a beautiful fall hike, but the weather doesn't look like it will cooperate. Who knows what's in store for us tomorrow, stay tuned to find out.

Hope you all have a fun & safe Halloween night.

Looks like an angel huh?
Unfortunately, she's not.
Disclaimer: I hope this doesn't make you think that I hate all dogs, because I don't. But Lily has been giving me a few reasons not to like dogs...
This weeks antics began on Monday. We had Charles & Kristi over for dinner and the puppies were their usual selves - barking at everything. Dinner was delicious and they even enjoyed the pumpkin pie I made. Actually, so did Lily. Yup, that's right, the lovely angel pictured above decided to finish off the pie on the counter... ALL OF IT!
Needless to say, we weren't happy... and I haven't let her forget it.
Then tonight, she was walking around and just happened to pee all over my feet! No, I'm not kidding, but I wish I was. I couldn't believe it. Still can't.
I'm almost 99% sure that Lily is trying to kick me out of the house. She loves Sam, but when it comes to me, she's eating my homemade pie and peeing on my foot. What does that say about our relationship?
Currently she's cuddling up to me, but she's probably just plotting her next revenge against me. I better watch my back...

When I am reading blogs, I love when I can find one that I really relate to. Sometimes I know the person who is writing the blog and sometimes I don't, but that doesn't stop me from relating and really enjoying what I'm reading. I recently came across a blog (through a friend's blog) where someone was asked what they actually do on a daily basis and I could relate, since being far away from friends & family and Sam being one of the only people to know what I actually do. Therefore, I am now giving you my "5 to 5" =)

5:00 am - Peacefully sleeping.

5:15 am - Alarm goes off for husband to get up. Puppies jump up on to the bed (if they haven't already) to snuggle for a little big longer.

5:45 am - Husband leaves for work.

6:00 am - Alarm goes off for me to get up. Puppies continue to snuggle in the covers while I take a shower.

6:25 am - Head downstairs for some "wake-up" time. This usually includes feeding the said puppies (who have decided they can tear themselves away from our bed for food), feeding myself, and checking e-mails & blogs. I enjoy this time in the morning!

6:30 am - Receive e-mail from husband, wishing me a good day. Love those!

6:55 am - Realize that I should finish getting ready so I can get to work on time (usually 10 minutes early). Puppies follow me upstairs to continue cuddling in the bed. I brush my teeth and finish getting ready.

7:10 am - Take puppies into the garage/kennel and gather my belongings for the day.

7:12 am - Off to work I go...

7:22 am - Log on to my computer and clock-in. Immediately begin my morning duties.

10:00 am - Finish highlighting my daily report & checking accounts; Begin e-mails to branches...

10:50 am - Finish e-mails (not the fun kind, the kind that says the same thing over and over again...not so much fun) and go on break to read.

11:15 am - Return from break, sadly, because I've been reading some good books lately and would much rather read all day then sit in front of the computer.

11:16 am - Check e-mail responses and record on previously mentioned daily report.

12:00 pm - Go to lunch. Monday - Thursday, I have lunch in the lunch room and read more. Friday, husband and I go out to lunch - it's the best part of the week!

1:00 pm - Wait for more e-mail responses and input them into the computer system.

2:30 pm - Move on to afternoon duties - mail items.

3:16 pm - Recieve e-mail from husband asking me to tell him a funny story because he only has 14 minutes left of work.

4:10 pm - Wish it was 4:30 pm so I could go home too...

4:30 pm - Time to go home!!!

4:42 pm - Arrive home to husband & puppies.

5:00 pm - Cuddle in for a night of dinner, TV shows, & time with husband & puppies!

Now, this isn't an ideal dream day or anything, but it is a typical day for myself. And if you didn't know already, I love structure, so this time break down is heaven to me!

That's right people, the name change has been complete. Social Security tried to give me a hard time, spelling my middle name wrong and all, but now I am officially a Grable!
On Saturday, Sam and I got up and had our morning mapped out - first we went to the DMV, then to Starbucks (because we had time to kill), Bank of America, Costco, and finally First Tech. Names changed, accounts closed, the works! I'm happy it's done.
Tomorrow night, we're having Charles & Kristi over and we're excited because we haven't had them over since the summer. It'll be good times!

01. The last few weeks have flown by - where has the time gone? It feels like all we do is wake up, go to work, come home & eat, and then go to bed... at least we have each other =)
02. This weekend we went to Sandy and spent time with Sam's family. Friday night was the Sandy Baptist Appreciation Dessert and it was delicious. On Saturday, we took a trip to Fred Meyers and picked out some lovely pumpkins and spent the afternoon carving them (see above for Sam & I's creations).
03. Today we went to church and then went to lunch with Charles & Kristi. It took a while to get our food, but it was really good. Kristi needed to make a trip to Old Navy so I tagged along =) We got some good deals!
04. Fall is here and I love it! I was telling Sam the other day that I thought Fall was my favorite season - it's the smells and the crisp air and the foggy mornings.

I'm home!

I had a great weekend at the beach with my mother-in-law & sister-in-law and about 20 other women from Sandy Baptist Church. I've been attending the church for about 3 years (whenever I was staying in Sandy with Sam). I knew the faces of a lot of the women, but didn't know names or much about them, so it was fun to get to know them. We ate, walked on the beach, shopped, ate some more. The speaker for the weekend was also very good.

Now it's Monday & Columbus Day, so day off for me, woohoo!

I love my ring. Enough said.

When Sam & I began talking about getting married, I mentioned some styles of rings I liked, but also told him that I wasn't going to pick out my own. I felt like if I was going to marry someone, he should know me well enough to choose a ring that when he looks at it he thinks "MEAGHAN!". Well, I think Sam had that reaction and that's what I love most about it. I know he thought about it and wanted it to be special.

Anyways, yes, I love my ring and wear it every day! I'm not sure I've left the house without it. I know I've left, but have turned around to get it - it's a part of me!

Sidenote: I do have to say that I take it off when I sleep & shower and if I'm doing chores around the house, only to not get it scratched up and worn out - BUT when I'm out, I'm proudly displaying the symbol of love my husband has given me =)

Since living with my husband (3 months, woo!), I've noticed we are a little different about a couple things. Today's topic: rings.

I know Sam loves being married, but man does this boy love to fidget with his ring. I catch him playing with his ring and dropping it on the floor multiple times each night. While I don't dare drop my ring, he's a little less cautious about it. He also leaves the house without it on occasion, and again I know we are always married and a ring doesn't decide this for us, this is just a difference I've recognized lately.

A while ago, I was reading a book on communication in marriage (and no we're not having marriage problems, just reading so we won't have them in the future), and they made a point about men & women and their rings. The engagement ring is given to the woman as a sign that they will soon be married. The woman wears this ring and receives acknowledgment over it often. When the man & woman get married, usually the woman gets another ring (or two) and the man receives his. After the wedding, the man will go on to work harder (generally speaking) jobs and will require his ring to be off more, for safety and comfort. The woman will continue to wear her ring(s), no matter what, day in and day out.

The book went on to show the differences in priorities for a husband & wife. I find these kind of examples most interesting because I see them happening in my own marriage and I don't feel so alone in what I'm going through.

Let's be honest, Sam & I are different in more than just the topic of our rings, but that's what keeps things interesting. I love learning about Sam and what he's thinking. I hope he feels the same way about me.

Stay tuned for more differences & likes...

This is Sim City.
This is a game my husband has found quite entertaining.
When I have control of the remote, I can tell when Sam is bored because he gets up and heads to the office. After I realize he's no longer sitting next to me, I usually go to find him. And when I find him, he's lost in a world that looks a lot like this.
Not only does Sam enjoy Sim City, but he also is very fond of his Legos.
He doesn't play with them often, but we've got tubs of Legos. When we go to Target, Sam & I usually go separate ways and when I'm done browsing the isles, I know just where to find Sam - with the Legos.
I love this about Sam.
I love that he is a builder at heart.
And I love him!

Dear iPod:

Thank you for helping me get through each work day -

without you, I might stick a pen in my eye.

love,

Meaghan

First, let me start off by saying "I'm sorry I didn't get to see you if you were in Bend..." - it had to be one of my quickest trips thus far.

Saturday morning, I woke up at 6am, got ready & packed, and was out the door by 7:30am to my hometown, Bend. I left Sam at home this time since it was going to be such a short trip and he'd get more done/enjoy himself more by staying home (except for the fact that this was our first night apart since being married (almost 3 months) so we missed each other...). Anyways, the drive was beautiful, as usual this time of year, and the traffic was barable.

I arrived in town around 9:45am and headed right to my first stop - IHOP! I was meeting my old co-worker, Michelle, for a lovely breakfast & catch up time. We've dubbed each other's "penpals" since we send a lot of e-mails back and forth with our new situation (me in Salem, her in Redmond). It was a great time and I got to hear all about her new life and she heard about mine. I miss her already...

After breakfast, I headed to treat myself to a pedicure. The last time I got one was days before the wedding, so I felt it was time to treat my toes again. It was a nice time and my toes are beautiful again! Then I ran a few errands and got my rings cleaned and headed to my mom's house.

The reason I came over to Bend was for her. She volunteers & is on the board for a local non-profit called Women's Resource Center of Central Oregon, which helps women who are transitioning into a new phase of their lives. This weekend was their 6th annual benefit, so I was at hand for helping. If it wasn't for a stubborn headache all night, it would have been fun, but I was kind of miserable... bummer! It was great to see all my mom's hard work though. She took on the task of putting together baskets for the silent auction - and there had to be over 30 or 40 baskets, full of amazing things. They made some money, which is great, but with the current economy, times are hard so hopefully this non-profit pulls through.

Sunday, I woke up and spent some time talking & catching up with my mom. We then got ready and spent the morning going to our favorite store - Target! We also had lunch and then I hit the road back to my home (which is still hard to say since my home has been with my mom for over 20 years).

The drive was long & rainy and everyone was heading that same direction... so it made it longer. I made it home and crashed on the couch with Sam for a few hours. He then treated me with a dinner out to Red Robin! It was nice to spend some time just with him, as I cherish every time I get it!

I miss my mom.
I miss my friends.
I miss my hometown.
But I love my husband and our home, and I wouldn't change a thing!

Oh and before I forget - Happy Birthday (yesterday) Kristi!!! Hope you had a wonderful day all for you!

I have a friend. Her name is Jessica. We met in high school, but became much better friends during our first semester in college. Those 4 months brought so many ups & downs, but we made it through alive.

This morning, I had the opportunity to have coffee with this beautiful woman. We've lost touch over the years, but we can still come together and catch up like it's only been days. Thank you Jessica!

After my coffee date, I decided to run errands. I came home to Sam and we spent the afternoon lounging around. We paid a few bills and went back out to see if there was anything we *needed* at Best Buy - no luck =(

Tomorrow we have church and then I desperately need to vacuum and get ready for another week of work... wish me luck!

Picture time! There are only a few, but they sum up the month of August pretty well.

Toward the first of the month, all the kids cleared their weekends so we could (finally) paint the parent's house - it turned out beautiful!

Sam's cousin Jessica turned 21, so we went up to Sandy for the day to have a family party out at his grandparent's house.

The happy newlyweds!

My husband is rarely seen without his camera these days...

And lastly, this was taken last weekend when we had the sleep over - the Grable's love their card games =)

Maybe I'll be better at blogging this month...

Oh I apologize... it's been days since I said I would have an update - my bad! Life seemed to get the best of me this week and now it's Thursday night.

To give you an update...

Sunday went great! We had 13+ people over to our home and had a great lunch together. The guest list included: Donna & Phil (Sam's parents), Laura & Josh (Sam's sister & brother-in-law), Matt (Sam's brother), Sam's grandparents, Sam's Aunt Linda & her daughter & grandchildren, and Sam's cousin Jessica & her boyfriend Jacob came too. It was a great time to show off our home and catch up with one another. On a funny note, we were hanging out in the bonus room when Josh sat up on the futon and broke the bed! Yeah, it was funny, but now we have to fix it. The festivities lasted until about 3 or 4 and then the party began to slow down. Around 4, it was just immediate family left, so the girls decided to make a trip up to Woodburn, while the guys stayed behind to play cards. I didn't get anything else from Woodburn because I had already spent WAY too much to begin with. Donna got some good finds and Laura scored with 3 pairs of Clark shoes - I was jealous! I had a great time with my new mother-in-law & sister-in-law! They are two amazing women of God! When we got home, the guys were in the middle of a game, so we popped in The Holiday (Sam & I's engagement movie!) and relaxed a bit. Matt headed home for the night and the girls went up against the guys in a game of Taboo - which ended in a tie. Around 11pm, we all headed to bed.

On Monday, we all took our time getting up and Laura & I made a delicious breakfast - waffles, bacon, and fruit. Then we cleaned up and headed to the park up the street and played a game of Bocce Ball - girls against guys. I believe the guys won, but it was a good game nonetheless. After the park, we walked back to our house and ordered Papa Murphy's pizza and played another game of Taboo - guys one again. Us girls must have been off our game that weekend...

All in all, it was a great weekend. I have a few pictures from the last couple weeks/weekends on my camera and maybe this weekend I'll have the time to upload them on to my computer. There might be some prime picture-taking coming up soon, so we'll see what happens.

Other than a busy weekend and a great Labor day with family, Sam & I have been working hard. We work all day and then come home and enjoy each other's company. Today, we had lunch together with the people he works with. If you know me, I get shy and quiet around new people, and this made me quite nervous, but everything went fine. They are very nice and it was cool to see who Sam works with and the people he talks about.

This weekend, we'll be staying home. Stay tuned for pictures & any fun adventures we get ourselves into =)

I'm one lucky girl!

I had been talking about going to the Woodburn Outlets for a couple weeks now and with the Labor Day weekend upon us, I finally made it!

Sam & I started the day off with a very nice haircut (for him), followed by a 30 minute drive to our morning destination - yup, Woodburn!
I wasn't sure how the crowds were going to be (Labor Day sidewalk sales are a BIG deal, apparently), but we got there at opening and hit up a few stores before it got too crazy.
Sam definitely spoiled me and I got a lot of cute items from the GAP, Fossil, and Columbia Outfitters, as well as a few things from a kitchen store (yes, I'm very married now =)). Don't worry, Sam got some key items as well, except we left with no tennis shoes for him... maybe next time.

The rest of the day was spent cleaning house. Tomorrow we're having a family event at our house in Salem. I'm kind of excited to show the progress we've got on making the house our home. I vacuumed, sweeped, cleaned the bathrooms, put wedding pictures in frames, and even hung a few up. I straightened up the garage (for no real reason) and Sam took care of the dishes. Laundry has been going all day and still isn't finished... I love being married!

I'm sure I'll have more pictures of tomorrow's events, but I didn't want to go without saying how much I enjoyed the time I spent with Sam this morning - thanks love!

How can it be the middle of August already? Wow... this summer is flying by!

Well, Sam and I have been busier than a one-legged man in a butt-kicking contest (that ones goes out to my best, Kel!). We've been working full-time on the week days and traveling to Sandy on the weekends.

The first weekend was a big painting party of the Grable home. We started the morning off with Joe's Donuts and a few garage sales (for the girls anyways) and then began painting. We got the whole house done, plus trim, in two days! The house looks great and Donna & Phil are happy - which is what matters.

The second weekend was a party weekend. On Friday, we all went to Josh & Laura's house for a birthday party for Matt. The kids got him his first digital camera and he was very excited! On Saturday, Josh's parents threw him a graduation party since he graduated earlier this summer and life was just too busy then. We got to meet some of Josh's family and eat delicious food (Josh's mom is a great cook/baker!).

This weekend is the first weekend we are staying home in a long time. The plan is to just hang out and get things done around the house (planting flowers, doing laundry, washing the dogs...). We'll definitely miss the family-time, but have some more family events coming up at the end of the month.

Well two more days of work and then a weekend with Sam... I can't wait!

I need/want/have to change my name!!!

If only it was all as easy as saying, "hi, my name is Meaghan Grable" but it isn't...

First, you have to order your marriage certificate.
2. go to the Social Security office.
Thirdly, drive over to the DMV & pay money for a new license & a new title, because the world needs more money...
4. send in for a new passport just in case you feel the urge to flee the country =)
Lastly (for the most part..), combine bank accounts with your husband with your new name & all!

Yes, we are one month into the marriage and I am only on step 1, but hopefully it will come together before we hit month 2...

First day of work = good. I just watched as others did things, but I'll get my chance. I just feel overwhelmed & nervous still.

My husband is the BEST! I came home to beautiful flowers & a homemade macaroni dish... it was wonderful! We ended the night with some handmade ice cream (via the beautiful pink Kitchenaid)... I love being married!

One month down... a lifetime to go!

I got a job!

I'll be doing similar tasks as I was at the credit union, but on a much larger scale (they have 60 branches, Mid Oregon had 4).
I'm not sure when I start, but I've had a good time being a full-time housewife.

In other news, Bethany, Jon, & Rachel came over for hamburgers and wedding pictures on Tuesday night. It was a good time and they were all troopers, sitting through 500+ wedding picture slide show... WOW!

Meaghan, Sam, Rachel, Bethany, & Buster (Jon & Lily not pictured)

Hope you're all having a good week!

Happy Birthday Karkeys!

Off to Bend we go...
Our first road trip as husband and wife (& dogs...)

My mom took us out to McMenemins for a late birthday dinner.
(Notice the long hair...)

My brother & mom.

The best macaroni EVER!

And the reason we headed to Bend in the first place...
My good friend from high school (we were practically inseparable freshman & sophomore year), Kacie Mcgee...

...is now Mrs. Kacie Ryan!!!

The bride & I (and my shorter hair...)

And before we left the wedding, my mom had to get a shot of Sam & I dancing since we didn't get a first dance at our wedding, so here we are... =)

We had a great time in Bend!
It was sadly cut shorter than we planned because Lily & Trede (my mom's dog) didn't hit it off and we decided to hit the road early on Sunday.
Thanks for the great time mom! We'll be back soon!