living in a winter wonderland

When I was growing up, icicles were one of the wonders of the world to me. I rarely got to see them, and they conjure up memories of magical mountainside lodges. Snow was such a novelty, and there are several scenarios from ski trips as a kid that bring back those warm fuzzies. One is driving along curvy, hilly roads and seeing the snow gradually increase along the roadside and trees as we get closer to the mountains; another would be slip-sliding across snowy/icy parking lots of small-town grocery stores to stock up on provisions for the trip: donuts, pb&j for mountainside lunches, and of course those wonderful ten-packs of assorted mini cereal boxes; and then there was the joy of seeing huge icicles hanging off roof overhangs and having Dad reach up and break a huge one off for me - my very own icicle!

Well, I can now say that I am the proud owner of several huge icicles, all across the front of my house, and this time I took pictures before Corey could break them all off on acount of their 'dangerousness'. Here, let me show you my treasures!

my new lenovo

What's a lenovo, you ask? I had the very same question just earlier today, when Corey and I were browsing Circuit City's selection of laptops during their going out of business sale. What? You already figured it out then? My, aren't you smart! Yes, you're right, lenovo is the name of my new laptop, but we call him lenny for short (as of now). AND, he comes fully equipped with Windows Vista, a 2.17 GHz Intel Pentium dual processor, 3GB of memory, AND a built-in microphone and webcam (capable of using retina-scanning security features!). While not quite top of the line, it's a heck of a lot better than the old, dying laptop (no offense, old laptop...sorry), and I'll be very excited to actually have a laptop that doesn't need to be plugged in to work (yay, I can take him upstairs!) So, everyone please help me in welcoming lenny into the family by commenting on his inagural blog post!

Piano lessons!

I had my first (since I was a kid anyway) piano lesson today! The teacher is Craig Allen at Encore Music Studios. He was recommended by a friend, and he seems to be a really great guy (and teacher from what I hear). We discussed what I want to get out of lessons, what styles I'm interested in, etc., and also what sort of experience and knowledge I already have. And he had me play the one song I know, Fur Elise, for him so he could see where I am in my technical ability. He was really encouraging, and pointed out that my finger dexterity and technique is pretty good, so we basically just need to start out by getting my intellectual knowledge (reading music and such) up to match what my hands are able to do. So my homework for this week is to practice scales (C, G, and D) and to bring in whatever music I've been using or playing around with next week so that he can try to better understand what I know and where I need help. I'm pretty excited, and I'll keep you posted about how they're going.

Mrs. Compton (a poem)

a cow heart sat on her desk
soaking in brine
or was it her heart
or could it be mine?

other teachers were smiles and hugs
but she was bricks and stone
did she know how she made me feel
embarrassed and alone
here was I, a tender heart
shy and gentle to a fault
but what did she see? a kid
unworthy of notice
or needing to be taken down a notch

why did she treat me the way she did
this I'll never know
but these memories rip my heart
until I can let them go

here's my heart, soaking in brine
can I give it to God for the 1,000th time?
I must, and I will
but Mrs. Compton, know:
your memory haunts me still

(a reminder to be nice to children) :)

and on a happier note...

wherever you go
go with singing
whomever you meet
meet with a smile
when you need to cry
find a strong shoulder
and be that shoulder when you can

when you see good in others
rejoice; don't envy
and when you see faults
choose not to judge, but help

embrace being you
whatever that means
at any given moment

teach, and be taught
help, and be helped
love, and be loved

and truly live

Christmas Letter 2008

Merry Christmas friends and family!

Some might consider this late, but I figure what could be timelier than a Christmas letter written on Christmas day itself? I hope that this letter finds you well, happy, rested, and not too stuffed with sweets!

It has been quite a year for this Hackworth clan. Probably the biggest news is that Corey and I bought our first house in May. We’re still in the process of making it our own (repainting some rooms and changes like that), but we couldn’t be happier here! It’s a split level house with three levels: the upper level has the three bedrooms and bathroom, the entrance level has the living room and kitchen, and the lower level contains an office/entertainment area, half bath, and laundry room. Now that we have so much space, we definitely have room to house you if you’re ever in the area and need a place to crash!

Also on the home front, we added a new member to our family in October! Meet Peet! He was born on August 22 this year (the day after our anniversary!), and he’s a mix of Terrier, Lhasa Apso, and Poodle. We adopted Peet from a local shelter called Pets Without Parents, and he’s pretty much the cutest little bundle of black fluff you’ve ever seen, though he’ll be even cuter once he’s finally potty trained (we’re getting very tired of cleaning up his messes). But Sammy sure loves having him as a playmate!

Corey began his second year in the PhD Program at OSU this fall, and he got to teach his first college-level Latin class this past quarter (or as he refers to it, torturing undergrads!) He must be pretty soft on them though, ‘cause they keep coming back for more. He even had two students wanting to transfer into his class since they liked him so much. He also rocked out the house in a Theories of Religion seminar he took, astounding everyone with his matchless understanding of Foucault and applying the French philosopher’s teaching to Corey’s favorite ancient text, Herodotus’ Histories. Every step of the way seems to be another confirmation that Corey is pursuing the right path—he’s doing what he loves and really excelling at it as well.

On my end of things, I’m still bringing in the dough with my mad table-waiting skills. Even though it’s not exactly college- or masters- level work, I’ve really found a job that I love and enjoy going to every day. The people I work with are fantastic, as are the customers. We even have several ‘regulars’ whom I’ve gotten to know somewhat and enjoy getting to chat with whenever they come in. I’m reminded of the ‘career aptitude’ test I had to take in 8^th grade . . . the top three jobs for me were waitress, psychologist, and teacher. And you thought those tests were baloney, didn’t you? Speaking of psychologist, I forgot to mention I finally graduated from Gordon-Conwell with my masters in counseling this past May! Go me! And I am actually using it too, even if not monetarily. I’m currently volunteering with the ‘Peer Counseling’ group at a nearby church, and that is going very well. I’m also talking to the pastors of my church about starting up a similar group in our own church to meet the great need there. It will probably be a slow process, but it’s nice to finally feel that I am getting back on track with this counseling stuff after a detour of sorts.

It can be difficult to keep updated with everyone, especially when they’re far away, so I hope that this fills in a bit where my communication has been lacking. I pray that God blesses you with peace and love this holiday season, and every good thing according to his will. I would love to hear what’s going on with you as well, so keep in touch!

Merry Christmas and a happy new year!

love,

megan, corey, sammy, and peet hackworth

the party

I'd say it was a success. We had a really good turnout and it seemed that pretty much everyone enjoyed themselves. Yay!

Peet was our Santa Claus, and he and Sammy actually did really well during the party...you could tell that they were really enjoying themselves, and they didn't scare any of the kids too bad either. Dad asked me to post some pictures, and I only took a few, but here they are, just for you Daddy!








Here are a few after-party pics, while I had the camera out... Corey with the leftovers
feeding Sammy a piece of ham...now you understand why the dogs liked the party so...

the living roomthe tree...notice my lovely handmade coat hanger and garland star, just like I had growing up
more of the living room...
where the doggies sleepsince I posted the 'house tour' pictures before I was really ready to show off the whole house, here are a few extras...
the 'middle bedroom' as we call it...it's the tiny one. we use it as a reading/craft (for me) room, and it's actually quite pleasant now. I couldn't get a better picture angle cause the room is to small:the guest bedroom, all decked out in Dad and MA's old furniture...and since of course you're curious about the bathroom, but too shy to ask...

fun in the snow

It snowed a week or so back, and the puppies and neighbor kids really enjoyed it. Here's my limited documentation:

leah's snow angel