"... another beautiful name."

Today I met British chef Gordon Ramsay at Macy's during a promotional appearance for his new book, "Gordon Ramsay's Fast Food". Ramsay's BBC show "Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares" is one of the few shows that Darrin and I will sit down and watch together. (Ramsay seemed to get a kick out of hearing that tidbit). My friend Sandra and I made our way through a one hour long que for the book signing, but it was worth it. He was extremely pleasant, charming and chatted with everyone. When Ramsay saw my name on the Post-it for the inscription on the book, he commented, "another beautiful name" in that British accent of his. I babbled on about how it was a pleasure to meet him (hoping in the back of my mind that my words were making sense)and then I shook his hand. Sandra and I said good-bye and then it was over. We stood by the side and giggled like a bunch of school girls. We headed back to the office clutching our new cook book and savoring the moment.


Chef Gordon Ramsay



Sandra couldn't wipe that smile off of her face.


Gordon and I in deep conversation ... too bad I spaced our and forgot to mention that my name was spelled in the Welsh tradition. He's a runner, too!

Earth Day '08: What Can You Do?

A few simple ideas:

• you can begin recycling paper, plastic and/or glass (start with one);
• switch to CFL lightbulbs;
• turn off lights when you leave a room; or instead of using plastic bags at the grocery store, buy some reusable canvas bags (lots of stores are offering them).

My conservation goal for this Summer is to start a compost bin in my backyard. It'll eventually produce rich nutrients for my garden.

Let's all take good care of God's creation ... the earth and people, too.

My best friend, now an international speaker on pediatric oncology, is a tree hugger, too! Here, she's huggin' a tree in St. Stephen's Green, Dublin, Ireland.

Oprah's Big Give Features Chicago Hope Academy

My daughter, Caitlyn, attends Chicago Hope Academy (http://chicagohopeacademy.com), which is a three-year old Christian high school located on the near west side of Chicago. The founders of the school, Bob & Tina Muzikowski, used to attend our church and had a desire to open a Christian high school in the city for many years. They organized the Near West Side Little League, which grew to be one of the largest little league organizations in the country -- reaching out to kids in the inner city who desperately need avenues like sports to keep them off the streets. It has been amazing to see how God answered prayers by opening the doors to CHA in the fall of 2005. What has been accomplished in these three years has been nothing short of miraculous. Yes, there have been bumps in the road, but God is faithful and He continues to amaze.

Chicago Hope Academy will be featured on this Sunday's season finale of Oprah's "Big Give" on ABC (7:00 p.m. CDT). I'm asking everyone to watch and, more importantly, to pray for CHA and the lives of the young men and women that the school is able to touch in the name of Christ.

Go Eagles!

The Week in Review (So Far)

Well, what a week it was! The city was invaded by a roaming cougar that found his way into Roscoe Village. He met his untimely death at the hands of Chicago's finest. (Photo: courtesy of the Chicago Tribune).

Temperatures finally reached the 70 degree mark and we can now see the layers of Winter grime slowly beginning to fade.

Finally, a 5.2 earthquake centered in downstate Illinois shook people awake up here in Chicago this morning. My mother-in-law told me that she thought it was an airplane rocking the house. I was in a deep sleep, apparently, because I didn't feel a thing. I woke up 45 minutes after the fact and felt very cheated and left out. Ironically, we had a meeting scheduled for the safety evacuation team at work today.

Springtime in Chicago

A tree lifting up its arms in praise of sky blue skies.


The first flowers to bloom in my garden (paperwhites).


Sedum peeking out from underneath the remants of last year's growth.

It was a beautiful day!

40 Years Ago Today ... "Shot rings out in the Memphis Sky"

My First Run in Eight Months

Since coming back to the gym in January, I have faithfully stuck to the elliptical machines. I had wanted to start running in January, but my surgeon told me to continue working on strengthening my left quadricep muscle before I even thought about running. In the back of my mind I knew I wasn't ready, but I did know that I had to get serious about conditioning myself.

Lunchtime yoga on Wednesdays has been a regular part of my post-surgical routine since November. Nathan, my yoga instructor, has told me recently that he has noticed much improvement in my poses, which made me very happy. The women of my family are plagued by tight hips; so, obviously, this plays into our knee and feet problems.

Back to the what I was getting around to say ... I have worked up to a consistent 30 minute cardio cycle on the elliptical machine (2 miles) during the past month. Each day I'm at the gym, I watch in envy as the runners do their thing on the treadmills. I would tell myself that I'd give it a try next week.

This past weekend was the Shamrock Shuffle 8K race -- a race that I have run in for the past 6 years, but I could not run. I wanted to, but could not train. I was not ready physically. My quad was not ready. My knee was not ready. My mind was not ready. My heart was not ready ... or was it?

Since Nathan spent last week hiking throughout Arizona, yesterday's class was spent practicing Warrior II and desert poses. It was a tough class and I woke up this morning feeling the effects of it. I fought with myself to even go to the gym at lunchtime today, but I did go. I decided that this would be the day. I would put aside my fear and just try to run on a treadmill.

I did a 16 minute warm-up on an elliptical machine and then self-assuredly walked over to an open treadmill. It was a newer, gadget-filled treadmill. I put my feet on the tracks to the side and hit "quick start" and off we went. For the first three minutes, I felt awful. I mean, I felt sick because I wasn't sure what to expect ... was my left knee going to explode? Once I got past the five minute mark, I got my breathing into a decent rhythm and calmed myself down. My iPod was cranking "I Will Follow" and everything was coming back to me. I remembered what it felt like and this felt good.

I ran for 14 minutes between 4.5 and 5.0 mph and cooled down for another three minutes. I ran my first mile today in 12:20. I am ready.

Let's Play Two!

Today kicks off the baseball season for our beloved Chicago Cubs and White Sox. The Cubs have a 1:20 p.m. start against the Milwaukee Brewers at Wrigley, but with dropping temperatures (we're around 41 right now), fog and rain in the mix, I'd be surprised if they're even able to make it to the 3rd inning. The White Sox will be facing the Cleveland Indians on the road this afternoon with Mark Buehrle taking the mound.

On a side note, I was pleasantly surprised to see that the Chicago Sun-Times had published a little piece that I wrote in today's edition of their "Talk Back" section.

Warped Priorities:
I was appalled to read in Sneed's column on Thursday how Gov. Blagojevich issued his "help me on this" plea to local politicos in his eager attempt to help the Illinois Sports Facilities Authority buy Wrigley Field. What is he doing about the ever-escalating cost of college
education in the state of Illinois? Perhaps he should ask the state legislature to help him on doing something to put a lid on the costs of pursuing an education at the public universities in our state.

Earth Hour: Chicago 2008

At 8:00 p.m., we turned off our lights for one hour. "Earth Hour" was created by the World Wildlife Fund last year in Sidney, Australia (learn more by visiting http://www12.earthhourus.org. According to ComEd, there was a 5% reduction in electric usage in Chicago between 8:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m. tonight. It's a start. Be a good stewart of the earth God created.

Worthy is the Lamb

Easter morning worship in Chicago.

"The shackles are undone

The bullets quit the gun

The heat that’s in the sun

Will keep us when there’s none

The rule has been disproved

The stone it has been moved

The grave is now a groove

All debts are removed

Oh can’t you see what love has done?

Oh can’t you see what love has done?

Oh can’t you see what love has done?

What it’s done to me?"

Window in the Skies by: U2

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

St. Patrick's Cathedral in Dublin.

The inside of St. Patrick's Cathedral (Árd Eaglais Naomh Pádraig). It is the largest church in Ireland, founded in 1191. Jonathan Swift, author of Gulliver's Travel's was the dean of this cathederal from 1713 to 1745.

This stone was uncovered below the surface of the traditional site of St. Patrick's Well. Tradition holds that the first converts to Christianity were baptized by St. Patrick there.

Go mbeannaí Dia duit -- May God bless you!

All photos taken in October, 2007 in Dublin, Ireland by Meridith ©

Poulnabrone Dolmen

Picture taken 10/10/07 in County Clare, Ireland by Meridith©

This portal tomb is one of two located in The Burren in Western Ireland. These large stone tombs were built throughout Western Europe during the Neolithic or New Stone Age when the practice of farming was first becoming established.

A New Guitar

"Three cords and the truth."






I think she liked her surprise.

Girl's Best Friend

We have finally reached the end of February. This Winter has been a long, cold & snowy one. I've been sick for most of this month, but I'm hopeful that the first peeks of crocus popping up and the potential of 40 degree plus weather this weekend with rid my body of what ails me.

Despite the congestion and on-and-off cough throughout this month, I managed to keep up with yoga class on Wednesdays, but I ditched the gym up until yesterday. I figured it was time to get back into a schedule; so, I did 20 minutes on the elliptical machine and called it a day.

We had Brody neutered two weeks ago. He still acts crazy ... and he loves the snow.

"I'll see you again when the stars fall from the sky and ...

the moon has turned red over One Tree Hill." One Tree Hill By: U2

My attempt to capture the lunar eclipse in February with my digital Minolta set up on a tripod in our frozen backyard in a star-filled, Winter sky. It was intensely cold, but beautiful to behold.

Seeking God

Our church is doing a 40-day prayer focus leading up to Easter entitled "Seek God for the City 2008." Today's passage just happened to be "Seeking God ... to rescue people enslaved in spiritual darkness." I thought that this picture captured today's theme perfectly ... it's framed in complete darkness, but the light brings forth the hope that is to come.

"And I will appoint you as ... a light to the nations, to open blind eyes, to bring out prisoners from the dungeon and those who dwell in darkness from the prison." Isaiah 42:6-7

"Jesus said to them, 'For a little while longer the Light is among you. Walk while you have the Light, so that darkness will not overtake you.'" John 12:35

Walk on.

Stained glass window panel; picture taken at Christ Church Cathedral, in Dublin, Ireland, October, 2007 ©

Happy Valentine's Day

PICT0047, originally uploaded by Meridith Louise.

Irish Hydrangea from County Cork. I took this picture while strolling the grounds of Blarney Castle in October, 2007.


"... the greatest of these is love." I Cor. 13:13

Last Weekend ... in 3D

I've been battling a cold for the past two weeks; so, that is my defense for the lag in my posts. I did muster enough energy to make it to down to Navy Pier last weekend to see U2 3D with Janice. It was an amazing way to see the band perform ... would've been so much better if the crowd was more into it, but very cool nonetheless. At one point, it seemed like I was going to get hit upside the head by Adam's bass guitar during one song. I also liked the over-head angle they shot Larry playing drums because it gave you a very different perspective that you don't get to see in regular concert DVD's. Two thumbs up!

I also ended up taking my daughters to see the Hannah Montana 3D movie (because I promised). Caitlyn & Alex are really more fans of the Jonas Brothers, but they seemed to like the whole concert ... Miley Cyrus and all.

Back to this weekend ... we were with Alex down in Crete today while she was cheering at a basketball tournament for the boys' basketball team. (Bruins won 1st place!) Caitlyn is working her first real job this weekend at one of the concession stands at the auto show. Winter refuses to cut us some slack. The high temperature tomorrow is supposed to be 4 degrees with windchills -20 degrees. I'm ready for a little sun ... and a good night's sleep.

"Where you live should not decide whether you live or whether you die ..."

We survived a weekend of below zero wind chills and the AFC and NFC Championship games. Although we were rooting for the Packers to win, we will gladly cheer on the Giants against the Patriots when Super Bowl Sunday rolls around in two weeks.

I actually made a real sit-down meal after church yesterday: baked lasagna, salad and garlic bread. Janice came over to catch up and share some stories from her recent medical missions trip to Haiti.

Last week, I discovered the show Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares on BBC America. I love it! Basically, award-winning chef Gordon Ramsay goes to a failing restaurant and works as a troubleshooter there for a week with the staff in an effort to turn things around. It is not pretty because he calls it like he sees it. If the head chef is lazy, he's not afraid to say it to his or her face. He gives them ideas to change their menus. Ramsay makes a return visit to each restaurant a few months down the road to see how they have fared with the changes. He drops a lot of F-bombs, but they are beeped out. It's very British and great to watch.

Goals for this week: elimination of migraine triggers, make it to the gym three times this week (plus yoga class)

Til Tuesday

The view southbound on Inner Lake Shore Drive, taken on a CTA bus, Jan. 8, 2008, 1:30 p.m.

I'm sitting at work listening to the end of "Creep" by Radiohead and watching the rain fall over the CNA building and the Field Museum. I just read on the Chicago Tribune website that another 15-year-old was shot and killed in Logan Square last night. Does it ever end? Violence continues to perpetuate around the world. God's heart does ache.

1:15 p.m. I leave my orthopedic surgeon's office for what will probably be the last time. There remains a 2 cm. difference between my left and right quadricep muscles. Dr. G is glad to hear that I'm back at the gym and laughed at my holiday excuses because he did the same. He encouraged me to keep working on strengthening the quads and to hold on running until I notice some definite improvement. I'm to follow-up with him in six months if I'm having any problems with the knee at that time. It has been a little over four months since surgery. It seems like I lost a huge chunk of time from July 27th (the day of the final, fateful run) up through physical therapy, but that is now all in the past and I'm ready to make another go at it.

On the way back downtown, I saw a camel while riding the No. 151 bus through Lincoln Park.