take me back tuesday: why my dog hates me OR why i will make a good mother to a human baby one day (depends on how you look at it)

i stop by my mom's house (aka - bailey's mimi and doggy daycare sitter) and walk into this:

batwoman with (chip) clips in her hair

suffice it to say, she was pretty pissed off and she's still not talking to me, as a matter of fact.  sorry the picture quality sucks; as much as i love my iphone, its photographic capabilities leave something to be wanted.  also, i will probably be missing in action around the blogosphere.  my work is kicking my ass - well, actually not my work, more like the people/things/policies i'm lobbying against are kicking my ass.  but once the dust has settled and i stop running around like my hair is on fire, i'll be back my lovers.

and p.s. if you haven't gone and checked out this post, i suggest you do it now.  it'll be worth your while, and it really should be classified as a take me back tuesday.  it is seriously A-MAZING.

please don't be sad, but...

sorrs guys... it's 6 o'clock in the freaking morning and i'm headed out to meetings, hearings, and more meetings and hearings, so i'll be a crazy working woman all the live long day.  in the meantime, feel free to love on my brand spankin' new blog makeover by the gorgeous and wonderfully talented miss marina at penny lane designs!!

take me back tuesday: the beginning of flash's soccer career and broken arms

so consensus has it i should do a vlog.  i hereby make a promise to you all and my bffff, squeaky, a vlog will be coming your way soon.  well, maybe soon.  depends on how you define "soon."  point is it will be happening.

now on to the whole reason why we all love tuesdays so much... the two pics below are near and dear to my heart and remind me of my early beginning at a long soccer career.

here's 8 year old (flash) on her first ever legitimate soccer team, the hotshots.  we were pink and blue because our team was made up of a bunch of very girlie girls and pink was THE color of the day.  who would have ever thought that from such humble beginnings, most of the girls i played with would go on to play division 1 college soccer and a few of which play professionally worldwide to this day.  now on to the important stuff - let me address my hair, beaver teeth, and broken arm.  until about age 8, i had rapunzel long hair.  i somehow got the brilliant idea to chop it all off and donate it to locks of love.  (i'm a giver like that.)  i also cut my own bangs.  obvs.  the teeth.  oh my gaaaawsh, the teeth.  i assume (seriously hope), we all had beaver-like teeth at some point or another.  (thank you for orthodontists and braces.)  the arm - this was my second broken arm.  by age 8, i had managed to break my left arm twice.  by age 14, i had managed to break my left arm not twice, but six times.  and i'm not talking little hairline fractions, i'm talking compound, clean breaks, some required screws.  for some reason upper body strength was never my strong suit, it seems.  wearing pink and being a little badass center-midfielder, on the other hand, was.

i hesitated even putting this picture up because it's hideous.  so feel free to point and laugh.  this was me around age 9.  age 9-12 = my super tomboy days.  hence the disgusting kate gosslin haircut.  i'm pretty sure kate got a tip out of my book and this was the haircut that inspired her own notorious wedge 'do.  same soccer team, but now instead of pink and blue, we graduated to red and blue.  less girlie, you know.  age 8, pink was cool, but now that i was 9, i would not be caught dead wearing pink.  i just now noticed the rolled up sleeves.  for some reason, i couldn't stand sleeves.  i still can't.  i always have to tuck my jersey and shorts up.  i swear i envy volleyball players in the spanky shorts and sleeveless tops.  if it were soccer protocol to wear stuff like that, i totally would.

take me back tuesday: (flash)'s soristute days

remember how i promised some good ol' sorority pictures way back when?  well, today is the day i deliver, my friends.  they're not the greatest, but they're all i could get my hands on quickly and i was in a hurry.  unfortunately, i do have another job other than blogging and it seems to be consuming much of my time as of late.  nonetheless, i have found time for you, my love birds.  please allow me to introduce you all to (flash), circa her freshman year of college as a mere pledge of one of the biggest, baddest sororities on campus:

here are me and my girls freshman year at an 80s-themed chapter meeting.  just in case you can't find me, i'm the third from the left in the navy blue flash dance sweatshirt.  i really got in touch with my birth decade this chapter meeting.

here i am with one of my pledge class sisters and my big sis waiting for the party bus outside the phi delt house.  the phi delts had their annual toga party every december in the middle of the freakin' winter and it happened to be about 30 degrees on this particular night.  i don't remember being cold, though.  hmmm.  and please remind me why we thought it was okay to dress this way?  i'm fairly certain women wearing real togas wouldn't have had a toga anything like mine.  clearly, the movie 300 hadn't come out yet to educate me on spartan or greek attire.

last but not least is a photo from a "secs and execs" frat party.  (i.e. - secretaries and executives)  i happened to be "sober sister" at this party which meant it was my job to make sure i was there to help out any of my fellow sororistute sisters if they needed it.  i was such the good little volunteer girl.  plus, i had a soccer scrimmage the next morning and had to be up at the crack of dawn, so underage drinking was not an option.  the guy i'm with was a baseball player and boyfriend at the time; he and i are still good friends.

take me back tuesday: denim and bunnies and pinching boys trying to lift up my dress

 here i am on my preschool picture day, and clearly, i was ballllllin' in my denim and bunny print overall dress.  thanks to the date written on the back of the photo, i can say with certainty that this picture was take the month before my 5th birthday.  i'm pretty sure age 5 was the point at which my personality and attitude were permanently fixed.  let me explain: don't be fooled by my little smile, i had just pinched the little boy beside me in line for lifting up my dress and i received a time-out.  it was all worth it for me though, because i remember the little boy crying and telling me i was mean.  that taught the little effer not to lift up my bunny dress.  men start early, it seems.  and see those splotches on the photo??  it's spaghetti sauce.  i know this because the picture sits in my mother's kitchen, the glass in the photo was broken when someone carelessly dropped me, and she clearly doesn't love me enough to regularly windex my photos.

take me back tuesday: college soccer days

seeing as though playing soccer is something i've spent a good seventeen years of my life playing, i should probably show y'all some soccer photos.  these pics take us back a few years ago while i was playing college soccer.  i LOVED it - playing soccer definitely made my college experience completely whole.  that and being a soristute.  we'll get to those sorority days another tuesday.

i think this picture is from a preseason game my junior year of college.  here i am being all fast like dribbling the ball down the field and sweating my little arse off.  it was seriously 99 degrees and 100% humidity that day.  it was always such a pleasure playing soccer in houston during the summer months and even into august and september.

this is one of my favorite pics that was taken during my senior year soccer season.  i distinctly remember the story behind this photo and it really did capture the emotion of the moment.  i was a senior, my teammate (gemma) who i'm hugging here, was a freshman who played forward.  she had been taking a lot of shots that day but most weren't on goal.  our coach was getting pissed and was about to pull her.  i pulled gemma aside and told her to calm down, shake the nerves, screw what everyone else was saying, and take a damn shot on goal.  (i was a good captain and pep talker like that.)  next play, i passed gemma a thru ball up top and prayed to God she'd do something with it or else she wouldn't see the field for awhile.  sure enough, she shot a perfect shot up top in the left corner of the goal and put our team on top.  this photo was taken just after she scored. 

p.s. oh, and something exciting is happening around these parts tomorrow.  if you like cool, free shit, i suggest you come back tomorrow.  i know you were planning on it anyways, eh?

p.s.s. or is it p.p.s?  anyp.s., i had a dream with k.stew and r.pattinson in it last night.  r.patz was missing his right hand.  it was weird.  k. stew was actually really cool in the dream, albeit a bit awkward as she is in real life.  i made out with r. patz.  he was an amazing kisser, you should know.

(a day late) take me back tuesday: oregon and nike factory billboard

*don't forget to check me out today at masala chica!*

i know, i know... i'm a day late.  sorrs.  i know you all are so compassionate and kind that you understand, right??  today's take me back tuesday takes us back to a 4th grade-ish meredith where i was around age 9.  my mom, little brother, and i went to oregon during a summer vacation trip.  my favorite part about the whole trip wasn't the scenery or the gorgeous mountain air - it was the huge nike store that had everything and anything nike and was like five stories tall. (really it may have just been two stories, 9 year old meredith may have made shit up.  whatever the case, the nike place was HUGE.)  remember, i was totes into soccer? well, since all my favorite soccer players wore nike, i thought if i did i'd be THE next pele or mia hamm all decked out from head to toe in my "just do it!" gear.  (google "pele" and you'll see how awesome he was.)  i was kind of a big deal, you see.  so here i am on one of our hiking trip all g'ed up from the feet up in my nike gear.  i clearly thought i looked good.  funny, i don't feel the same way now looking back at these pictures.  *sigh*

take me back tuesday: sibling school days

ohhh the joys of "chapel" days where we had to wear our ties, blazers, and "nice" shoes.  my "nice" shoes were dr. martens.  and let me tell you, you were not suuuuuper cool unless you wore dr. martens.  why?  i don't know.  the shoes were an ugly, hot mess and seriously weighed about 3.4 pounds a piece.  no joke.  i was in 8th grade here (age 14), little brother was 7, and little sister was probably 6 months or so.  i had braces, a slicked back bun, a pleated khaki skirt, an oxford blue shirt, tube socks, a cool tribal-looking necklace, and a bow tie which was clearly not tied into a bow.  i was the essence of fashionable.  if only i were still so cool.

this photo was taken my senior year of high school.  my little brother was 10 here, and the little blondie in the front was 3.  you can clearly pick out who's italian in this family and who's swiss.  we're so multi-cultural.  because i went to an all-girls school, i cheered for one of our brother all-boys schools, and my family reluctantly faithfully came to nearly all of the sporting events at which i cheered.  a group of my guy friends always painted there bare-chested bodies; they did this even in 30 degree weather.  they got my poor, unsuspecting little brother on the let's-paint-ourselves-with-old-paint-that-won't-come-off-with-anything-but-a-brillo-pad bandwagon.

p.s. it's supposed to SNOW today.  SNOW.  in HOUSTON.  snow.  cuh-razy.

take me back tuesday: bad hair, daisey dukes, yin and yang, and converse... oh, yeah and the new BANGS.

don't worry... i didn't forget that today was tuesday.  it just took me a little longer than usual today.  plus, i was too busy of thinking of the hundreds of reasons why i'm so incredibly unqualified to be a paired figure skater. 

that being said, let me officially welcome you to take me back tuesday where i'll be taking you back to third grade.  feel free to cringe at any point.

the scene

age: 8 years old

what: the morning of my first day of 3rd grade

why: because my mom took pictures every year documenting my "first day of (insert grade level here)" and i clearly liked to ham it up for the camera like a freaking porkchop

now on to addressing the attire and pose

hair: i was in a tomboy stage.  forgive me.  and clearly, i was growing out my bangs.  remember when having bangs was no longer "cool" anymore so everyone pinned them back while they were growing out?  it's funny how fads come and go.  it's even more interesting today because i now (as of yesterday, as a matter of fact) have bangs.  like real legitimate bangs; not the i-have-short-side-bangs-that-pose-as-real-bangs-but-aren't-really.  i may or may not show you a picture at the end of this post.  but probably not though because i hate them on me.  and i cried this morning when i woke up and they were sticking up all over the place like beetlejuice.

necklace: yin-yang necklace.  duh.  those were so the shiz.  i was yin and my best friend was yang.  or maybe it was the other way around, i can't really remember.  in this picture, i think i was actually wearing both the yin and the yang which i think means i'm a whole person who has reached the self-actualization stage on maslow's hierarchy of needs.

shorts: these shorts gave daisy dukes a whole new meaning.  not the fact that they were short, but they had actual daises on them.  well, by real i mean daisy decals, but still.

shoes: converse.  obvs i was the most badass 3rd grader in the school.

----

oh, and because some people were asking... i'll show you my accidental bangs.  like real bangs that i have no idea what i'm supposed to do with now that i have them.  i need brooke or mayra's help since they both seriously have perfect bangs.

{driving in the car, this morning, on the way to work, waiting at an extremely long stop light, and being grouchy about my beetle juice looking bangs}

{this was during my lunch break today.  you can probably see bailey going potty in the background somewhere.}

take me back tuesday: middle school track meets

* tomorrow's the last day to enter my giveaway!! *

remember how some of you didn't seem to think my awkward, ugly duckling stage was really that awkward??  well, today i bring you great pictures.  oh the joys of middle school.  le sigh.  middle school brings back memories of my very favorite things: braces, unmanageable hair, messy ponytails, puberty, school uniforms, and "going out" with boys (even though you never actually went anywhere except maybe to the movies where my mom would drive us in the back of her land cruiser).  one of my favorite memories of middle school, though were school sports - soccer, track and field, cross country, and cheerleading.  i was never a volleyball player because i always had broken arms, and basketball wasn't my thing due to the whole issue of height (or lack thereof).  with soccer, my middle school didn't have a girls' team, so i played on the boys' team against other boys' teams.  i absolutely loved kicking the guys' asses.  middle school boys hate when (OMG) a girl is actually better than them at something.  so, naturally i capitalized on it.

i especially loved track meets because that's where me and my two best friends, erin and julie, would get to meet cute boys at other middle schools.  oh, and i liked getting the hardware that came with winning.  i liked winning.  (not much has changed.)  i ran the 100m, 200m, and 400m opens, and the 4x100m and 4x200m relays.  i wasn't the best at the 100m race, but the 200m and 400m races were definitely my thing.  my absolute favorite, though, was high jump.

 {this first photo shows me with my little sister in all my braces glory.  these photos were obviously taken before i had discovered the wonder that is make-up or tweezers.  i was unashamed of my sexy metal mouth.  this second photo is me with my two besties, erin and julie, discusses boys, no less.  judging from that skank look on my face, we must have been discusses a boy i didn't particularly care for.}

{running my favorite race - the 200 meter dash.  look at me running all fast like a fox.  or a cheetah.  because cheetahs are faster.}

{such a pensive little 6th grader i was with my cute little scrunch socks and reebok track spikes.}

take me back tuesday: the hot pink fringe shirt is BACK!

boy have i got a take me back tuesday for you all today!!  because so many of you raved about how much you loved last week's hot pink, rhinestone-studded, fringe shirt, i brought it back.  that's right.  you're in luck.  and this time, folks, it wasn't even "go texan day" -- it was my 7th birthday party at a badass roller rink.  remember those??  all my friends thought i was so cool wearing my brand spankin' new roller blades winning all the races.  seriously, i was a lightening bolt on the 'blades. 

as you can see, my smile resembles that of a jack-o-lantern.  but do i not smile?  do i embarrassingly attempt to hide my awful teeth?  no, i put them on display for all to see.  i apparently thought i looked goooood.  and as you can see from the photos, my smartass attitude problem clearly started early.  when my mom asks, "meredith, how'd you get to be like this?"  i point at her and then show her old pictures with my 'tude shining through.  "shoulda put a stop to it sooner, momma!"

take me back tuesday: bikinis, skorts, and denim

it's tuesday which means another tuesday that you get to stalk old photos of me.  i know.  you're excited.  i get it.  if you're not, just lie to me and pretend like you look forward to tuesdays at flash.

{would ya take a look at those muscles??  i mean seriously, i was lookin' something fierce!  okay, okay, you're right - i got nothing.  in case you're not sure, i'm the one of the right.  the girl.  in the bikini looking thing.  the little scrawny kid in the yellow trunks is my cousin.  we are the same age, but i beat him at everything.  i think my competitive-ness started right when i came out of my mother's pikachu.  oh, and this pic is from either 1st or 2nd grade.  we were at the pool.  obvi.}

{well, i am from texas, you know.  regardless, i'm still not sure why i wore this shit.  i seriously hope it was "go texan" day, and i wasn't just wearing this for fun.  (we have those here in texas - "go texan day".  a whole day dedicated to all thing texas.  really.  i'm as serious as a freaking heart attack.)  and yes, that skort looking thing does have a slit in the front.  this is also from 1st or 2nd grade.}

{this was from 4th grade.  i think.  i don't know if you've seen, but denim like this is back.  i keep seeing it in all those emails the marketing whores at banana republic and j.crew keep emailing me.  i keep trying to tell you people i don't follow trends, i set them.  hence, the denim i'm rocking from the 90s.}

take me back tuesday: braces and middle school

for those of you newbies at my blog, we do something over here every tuesday called take me back tuesday.  and by "we," i really mean just me.  unfortunately, you, my dear readers, don't really have much a a choice in the matter unless, of course, you decide to throw a mutiny and go all boston tea party on my ass and sign a petition to get me to stop.  but i seriously doubt that happening.

in this edition of take me back tuesday, i dug around in my old bedroom at my parents (now conveniently my mother's huge "storage" closet, aka - a place to put all of her preschool sunday school stuff and scrapbooking supplies) and found these two beauties circa my middle school era.  i must warn you: they are not pretty.  i have braces and am at a super awkward stage.  (we all went through that stage, right...?!??) 

{this photo was taken the summer before my 8th grade year.  i was 13 and had brilliantly sexy braces.  obvs, the dudes totes dug them.  i was co-captain of the cheer squad, and let me tell ya, it was a BIG deal.  well, actually, not really.  i don't think anyone gave a shit.}

{this picture was from a 6th grade hippie birthday party.  i'm not even sure what i was wearing or why.}

take me back tuesday

{quite frankly this picture should have been in this previous post about my lonestar state.  clearly, i am from texas.  i was in pre-k around 4 years old here.}

 {whoever thought kanye invented this sunglass look is sadly mistaken.  i was rockin' it long before the days of kanye.  i was 6 and a half here.  i know this for a fact because this picture was actually taken the day my little brother was born.  i totally remember what i was wearing.  i may look happy in this picture, but i assure you, i wasn't.  this day changed my life, and i was no longer an only child.}

{i apparently hairsprayed my bangs back.  i was such a classy broad back then.  thanks late 80s and early 90s.}

----

i'm not going to give a recap of or talk about last night's bachelor.  well, at least not in detail.  i will say these three things, however:

1. is it just me or are all the bachelors and bachelorettes kissing whores?  for real.  i'm not judging, i'm just making an observation.

2. my favorite comment from last night comes from christina: "my hands are sweating like a 5 year old boy getting ready for recess with his girlfriend."

3. these chicks are ridiculously emotional.  (vienna and michelle especially).  i'm a female, so i can say that and you know i'm for reals.

4. i find myself talking back to the t.v.  like when ashley (brunette, not very cute, kind of annoying, a teacher from pennsylvania.  she didn't get a rose last night.) was asking these rhetorical questions, i'd answer them.  i'm not sure she cared.  she clearly should have though.

take me back tuesday

when i make promises, i deliver.  here we are with a little edition of take me back tuesday involving a heinously itchy red dress and an early episode of jersey shore.

i seriously hated this dressed.  it itched.  like crazy.  and still my mother insisted i wore it. 

sorry this picture's all effed up.  if you can't see it very well, i will talk you through it: 1. yes, that is a little mermaid bedspread.  2. i had bangs.  i was very avant-garde.  i didn't follow trends; i set them.  3. i am watching something on tv that i probably shouldn't have been watching.  ALL of those people are half naked.  it may or may not have been an early episode of jersey shore.  i was apparently raised right.

take me back tuesday

circa 1990.  i did ballet for all of about 4 months.  i was not super girly (i had five older brothers), and i didn't "take direction well."  i preferred to do things "my own way" and impromptu on stage because i loved people looking at me.  go figure.  clearly, i've change sooo much.  and look at those arms!  they look like little vienna sausages.  hawt.  shortly after this photo was taken i switched to soccer; the uniforms weren't as cute as this, but they sure as hell didn't itch like this one did.  i obviously didn't quite know how to suffer for fashion yet.