Get Busy

Now that I got my homesickness off of my chest last night & the Chicago sun is shining & plans have been made to leave my house & enjoy this day, I'm ready to be optimistic & day dream a little about all of the projects & adventures I would L.O.V.E. to make time for! 

• DIY Headboard is the first thing I'd like to do...however, I'm pretty content (for now) with the situation we're working with (primarily, the gallery wall above our bed). Even though we've extended our lease until June 2013, my heart is already beginning to construct an exit strategy for this apartment & this city...I know it's a little premature, but I'm not sure constructing a custom headboard is such a good idea in an apartment we'll only be in for 1 more year. We'll see...
• The few little items on the To Do 2.0 list
• starting with no sew curtains for our bedroom. Greg recently put up the mini blinds that we bought for our room shortly after we moved in so now it's my turn to finish the window treatments. I already have the curtain rod & rings, so now i just need to pick out some fabric. I'm thinking maybe mustard yellow as an accent color? Greg's rooting for Navy. 
• Re-staining the dining room table was on the list...although I think our energies will be better spent staining the 2 extra chairs & the bench we bought to finish up our dining room. Refinishing the armoir was also on the list...although I'm feeling like I'll probably start looking for a replacement. The truth is, the one we've got "works", but it's not good quality. I think it's time for a re-purposed upgrade. 
• We also have a few pieces of furniture in our bedroom from my childhood bedroom that need an update. It's time to borrow the old electric sander & get to work. 
• Finally, we I'm going to start looking for a dresser for our bedroom. I'd like to get something like this & paint it a complimentary accent color. That'll depend on what happens with the curtains. I'd really like to organize our closet, & getting a great dresser would help. 
• Wedding "Art" & Photos Framed: Our marriage certificate created by brilliant blogger Design Editor & signed by all of our wedding guests is sitting in a shady spot in our living room & it breaks my heart every time I look at it. It needs a frame & a prominent spot in this house & every one after this one. That's gotta get done pronto! I'm guessing it'll take a custom framing job as will the large family photo we had printed for our hall way. We both REALLY love that photo & want it up immediamente. We also ordered a few prints that I'd like to incorporate into our gallery walls, which'll probably take a trip out to Ikea. Once that traveling husband of mine gets home we'll get on it! 
• Sewing lessons: I love to craft, create & do things myself. I bought myself a sewing machine a few years ago, and haven't used it once since we moved to Chicago. I am SUPER impatient, which is why I'm not a great seamstress. SO I think it's time for some sewing lessons to learn the right way to do it so I don't get frustrated & give up. I'd love to learn to quilt, & be able to sew some linens like crib sheets, bed skirts, duvet covers & pillow cases.  
• Tennis lessons: I have ALWAYS wanted to learn how to play tennis & they are being offered right in my very own neighborhood for beginnings. This is a SUMMER MUST. 
• I would REALLY love to take a Letterpress class, but they seem kind of pricey, so this line item might need to get held over to a future life. Or until somebody wants to do a more affordable clinic (hint hint: Paper Source). 
• Of course, I need to get BACK to the reading list. Sometimes I can't get enough, and sometimes my brain is just not in the mood. I'm almost done with 30 things every woman should have & should know by the time she's 30, which I have thoroughly enjoyed. I also started the Hunger Games, which is also great, but I've been distracted. 
• There's a couple other random crafties I want to try...
• Decorate some inexpensive dinner plates for serving. (Lyrics to wedding song? Some favorite quotes? Perhaps some holiday-specific quotables? We shall see...)
• A sunbathing towel for Ash Matty.
• Summer & Fall ribbon wreaths.

Is it weird that this list seems short to me? Now all I have to do is choose which one to start with...more on that later.

#ilovelists,

Meggo

Oh my...May!

I can hardly believe that the last time I blogged was before my parents arrived for my graduation. It can't have already been almost a month...right? WEIRD. Since then I've done some reflecting on what's happened, but I just didn't make time to sit down & jot down the details. For now, here's the readers digest  version (warning: it's still long).

After about a year and a half as a Sigma Chi Headquarters staffer, Greg & I decided it was time for me to move on.  Working at Sigma Chi was an incredible experience, one that I look forward to telling our children & grandchildren about.  I try to always publicly give thanks for the privilege that our lives have been, and having worked together for an organization that we both love is definitely something to be thankful for.  I've been drafting a post about my time at Sigma Chi, & I'm looking forward to finishing it up & sharing it...soon!

Of course, my parents arrived early last month to celebrate my graduation form Grad school. My departure from Sigma Chi coincided with my parents visit which allowed me to spend a great deal of time with them, which made us all really happy.  We got to take in a cubs game, take an architectural tour, and spend some good old fashioned family time together.  It was a great visit. As for the reason for their visit, my graduation, I still can't believe I did that.  My experiences in the masters program at Loyola University Chicago is one that I've also been reflecting on pretty regularly, and I really owe it to myself to commit those reflections to writing too. Again...soon!

What I can reflect on right now is the amazing graduation party that my family, friends & neighbors threw for me.  In typical Latch Morgan style, I had a "vision" for what that party would be like, which I'm sure felt overwhelming for Meghan, Greg, Charlene & Rich, but true to form, they created a day for me that was beyond my wildest dreams. It was so much fun & I felt truly celebrated. My graduation party was the punctuation on a long year-and-a-half-ish of celebrations in my honor, all of which I was incredibly grateful for. And I'll be even MORE grateful when I get to through the same number of celebrations for all of them...soon!

My parents 8 day visit ended up feeling like an 8 hour visit...always too short...but we had a great time. Naturally two days after they left, Greg hit the road for a work trip, but I had my trusty sidekick & best lady Coop by my side...for a little while.  As I'm sure you know Meghan had been planning to return to our hometown to begin a new chapter of her life, and the weekend after my parents left, Greg & I threw her a going away party.  I for surely do NOT mind 2 weekend bbq's in a row. A good time was definitely had by all! Of course, the celebration was bittersweet. Just a few days later Meghan & I hit the road at 4:30 AM to officially move her "back home". That road trip & the experience of sitting (physically & metaphorically) by my best lady's side as she headed off in her very own direction is also something I should spend some time thinking over. In contrast to my feelings on Sigma Chi & Loyola, my heart hasn't allowed my head to do a lot of reflecting on that transition...soon!

B

A

Since then I've been getting into the swing of things with my #newlife. After I left Sigma Chi I officially took over for Coop in her Nanny role with an incredibly kind family that she'd been working with for 2 years. They have 2 brilliant & hilarious children, Brendan who's almost 5 & Annika who just turned 2.  I already had a relationship with Kerri, Peter & their two nuggets by way of "Miss Meghan" but I've really enjoyed developing my own relationships with all of them and their super friendly dog Edson.  This new work is definitely a departure from my work at Sigma Chi & from the training I was getting at Loyola, but I'm getting lots more hugs & really enjoying the new work/life balance I'm beginning to strike.  I'm also especially excited about the flexibility that my new role offers...I'm getting to volunteer & do all of the leadership programs my little nerdy heart desires, which is EXACTLY what I need in my student-loving life. My first program of the summer is coming up just a little over a month from now.  I'll be helping facilitate Beta's Wooden Institute in Oxford & I can hardly wait! More to come on that...soon-ish!

Lady Baby E

Best Lady Pups

In the mean time I'm struggling with a pretty rockin' case of homesickness. As it turns out, even though we've spent the last year and a half celebrating our engagement, showers, school accomplishments, our wedding, the birth of sweet Ella Frederick, graduation, Coop's big move home, etc....immediately after we were done with all of that, I returned home to a city I'm kind of on the outs with, to a house that is empty (Greg's on the road...again) with almost all of my best friends back home.  I know "this too shall pass", and there'll be many-a-post on this blog about how incredible our Chicago lives will be this year, followed (I hope) by a post about how much I'll miss this city when we leave it, but for now, I miss my family, my friends & my husband. The bright side? The two cutest puppies in the world are here with me, happily cuddled on the couch & they like Law & Order reruns too. I'll be back on top, into some other DIY project, getting into some kind of trouble, bragging about what a lucky lady I am...soon!

Optomistically,
Meggo