Tag: Missouri

January 9 – Happy Birthday

Posted on by Meredith Rines, MBA, CFP®

Meet Tiny! Mine and J's new puppy saved from the highway in #PoplarBluff. #saveastray #dog #petadoption

Meet Tiny Dodger! The newest addition to mine and J’s family.

#dogloveMaggie watching over her new sister, Tiny. #dog
Tiny got her name from the fact that she dodges traffic like a pro. So here I was driving home from my hometown back to Springfield on Wednesday I spot this little pup jumping through the tall grass in between two lanes of traffic along the highway. Knowing that I just could not leave her, I turned around. Picture this: me running along the side of a highway in muddy grass chasing a dog. It was pretty hilarious for drivers passing by.
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Tiny is absolute skin and bones. I have to say J and I were thrilled when she took her first bite, which was after she watched Maggie take a bite. The vet thinks that she is about 7-8 weeks old and she currently weighs 3.7 pounds. Crazy!

Not knowing when her actually birthday is – I’ve decided that January 9 (the day I spotted her on the highway) is her birthday.  She has hit the jackpot with J and I!

Cheers!

Posted on by Meredith Rines, MBA, CFP®

Photo on 2012-12-13 at 14.52 #2

Life is a ride. Simple phrase that explains so much.

I graduated from college with my Masters. Celebrated Christmas with my family and J’s family. Traveled over 8 hours in a car in less than 36 hours. Rang in the New Year with J and some great friends. Started living on my own again. survived what felt like a plague that lasted way too long.

I plan on sharing my New Year’s Resolutions with you in the next few days and to blog a bit more consistently in 2013.

Here’s to hoping and trying to develop better habits, spend more time laughing and less time stressing this year.

Cheers!

Diet 7-Up Biscuits

Posted on by Meredith Rines, MBA, CFP®

Happy Thanksgiving! I hope everyone had a day filled with love and yummy goodness!


J and I celebrated our first Thanksgiving together this year.  Due to work schedules we both weren’t able to make the drive home, especially since our drive is in opposite directions of one another.  It just made it too difficult.  So, we made the best of it and celebrated on our own.

I got there just in time for the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade to start, which is my absolute favorite part of the day.  I’ve seen a 7-Up Biscuit recipe on Pinterest lately and it looked delicious.  I adapted the recipe to be a bit more Weight Watcher friendly and the results were a-mazing.

Ingredients:

2 C. Heart Smart Bisquick
1/2 C. light Sour Cream
1/2 C. diet 7-Up
1/4 C. melted butter (I used I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter)

Directions:

In a large bowl, mix sour cream and bisquick together.  Add 7-Up to mix.  The dough will be really soft.  Melt the butter and pour into the bottom of a 9×9 pan.  Next, sprinkle some bisquick mix onto the counter and spread out the dough.  You don’t want to knead the dough, but just pat and spread to be about one-inch thick.  Use a glass or a biscuit cutter and cut out biscuits.  Place in pan and bake at 450 degree for about 8-10 minutes, or until golden brown.

Makes 9 servings – 4 WWPointsPlus per serving

I had one biscuit that didn’t want to cooperate when I was putting it into the pan… I’m sure you can figure out which one that was.  Oh well! Recipes can’t always be picture perfect, but they were still delicious.

10 Things I’m Thankful For

Posted on by Meredith Rines, MBA, CFP®

B&W #roadtrip

Happy Thanksgiving! I’ve decided that since it was Thanksgiving and all that it would be a good time to write down what I’m Thankful for this year.

1. My family. After this afternoon’s FaceTime session with them I realize that they are quite unlike any other family I know and for that I’m truly thankful.

2. J. It has been a wonderful year with him and I am grateful every day that we met sitting in Steak-N-Shake late one night.  It’s great having a guy that is so supportive of my ideas, my dreams, and everything going on in my life.

3. My friends. The first text I received this morning was from friends wishing me a Happy Thanksgiving. It’s great to remember all the fun times we’ve shared in 2012: a cruise, a haunted house, road trips, weekends at the lake, ‘family’ dinners, and so many more.

4. Work. This year has been quite a departure for me from the past several.  I started an amazing journey as a Weight Watcher Leader and have met so many amazing, supportive people since that time.  I’ve also been blessed with a job at a local law firm that has supported me through my school with a flexible schedule and has always been a place to go when I need an extra quiet study room at midnight.  Finally, I recently started a job as a Sales Associate at a retail store and cannot wait for my future with such a bright company.

5. Maggie.  We all know how obsessed I am with that pup so it’s no surprise that I can’t even make it half-way through my list without mentioning her.  Maggie and I have had quite a life together these past years.   I am thankful that she picked me that cold, rainy day in a hospital parking lot.

6. Graduate School.  Though I complain about it.  I am grateful that I’ve had the opportunity to further my education.  In less than 25 days I will be walking across the stage at Missouri State receiving my Masters in Business Administration degree.  Alright, so I actually won’t be getting my diploma that day, but I will be receiving an empty leather holder that symbolizes all the hard work and late nights I have put in these past 2 years.

7. My parents.  I know that I mentioned family as number 1, but the more I thought about it I really think my folks deserve their own number.  My Mom and Dad are awesome.  Seriously, I have the best parents around.  They support one another as they support their two kids.  I cannot say thank you enough to the two people who brought me into this world, guided me, and taught me to be an independent, educated, young adult.

8. J’s family.  They have welcomed me into their lives this past year and I’m grateful.  J’s family is absolutely wonderful and knows how to have a good time.

9. My Grandmas.  I’m lucky to have two amazing Grandmothers that have taught me a lot as I’ve grown up.  Still to this day the sound of wind chimes puts a smile on my face thanks to my Grandma D. who always had them on her front porch.  Grandma W.’s sandtart cookies are my all-time favorite and each Christmas I look forward to them.

10. Creativity.  I like that I can think out of the box (most days) and have a passion for creating.  There are so many ways to reduce stress out there and I’m glad that the one that helps me calm down the most is just so simple.

Okay, I know this post was a bit long.  Sorry.  Happy Thanksgiving and may your day be filled with happiness!

2 weeks

Posted on by Meredith Rines, MBA, CFP®


It’s been a long while since my last post.  I figured it was time for an update.

Life has been crazy and not in a sweep me off my feet, good crazy.  More of a I want to pull my hair out, I miss sleep crazy.

First change – I started a new full-time job at a major retail chain.  Training has been a great experience so far and I’ve met a lot of new people who are super nice.  The downside to training is that… well, I’m training.  I keep being moved from department to department and have absolutely no idea where I am going to land.  Another downside is that Thanksgiving is next week and this will be the first time in 5 years that I am working retail for the holidays.  It’s going to take some adjustment not being able to spend days with my family.  On a good note – I am so freakin’ excited about my new job!  Retail is a passion and I’m finally back in it.

Second – I’m still working my other 2 part-time jobs.  Honestly, the hours are meniscal each week and I enjoy what I’m doing so I can’t really complain.  They are just adding to what is keeping me uber busy.

Finally – 30 days until graduation! One month. I can do it. I can do it. I have no choice at this point! Projects. Projects. Projects. They are kind of taking over my life. Group projects, individual ones, tests to study for, papers to write. It’s ridiculous how much time I’m spending at the library each evening.  Honestly, I got done an hour earlier than expected tonight and that’s why I’m writing my post.

I can talk on and on about how tired I am or how I constantly seem to be sick; and perhaps that’s what this post will come off as, but I don’t want it to. I wouldn’t change one thing about my life right now. I really don’t know what I’ll do when I have graduated. It’s going to be a surreal, out of the body experience for a bit.

Grad school has been an amazing adventure and I’m pretty proud that I kicked its butt.  Maybe, the next time I have some free time, I’ll write about my favorite parts of grad school… ya, that’d be a good, exciting posts. Right? Right!

Until next time…

a day in the park

Posted on by Meredith Rines, MBA, CFP®

This past weekend was the Apple Butter Festival in Kimmswick, MO. But before we made our way to fried-food heaven, J and I took the pup to the park and had some pictures taken by SMR Photography.

Check Marks for Fall

Posted on by Meredith Rines, MBA, CFP®

fall

Now that it is finally starting to feel like fall around the heartland I can create my fall to do list.  Here are a few of the things that I cannot wait to cross off with my favorite season of the year.

1) Ghost Tour of the historic Pythian Castle here in Springfield.

2) Carve a pumpkin.

3) Host a ‘family’ Thanksgiving dinner with J and the pup.  Since are families live 3 hours apart it will be hard to spend time together on the actual day, so we have hopes of celebrating together – just our little family.

4) Update my wardrobe with a few new chunky cardigans and eye catching scarves.

5) Spend some time reading something out of enjoyment and not necessity.  First up – Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn.

6) Complete a few crafts that I have been putting off, including my new nail polish display rack.

7) Start researching a new home to rent this coming Spring.

8) Become a bit more organized with my budgeting.

9) Drive to my absolute favorite in the world Apple Butter Festival in Kimmswick, MO

10) Develop some new post ideas and tutorials.

Now that fall has officially arrived, what are your plans?

Days like these

Posted on by Meredith Rines, MBA, CFP®

Sleeping beauty.
On days that start off like this one
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where Maggie and I spend most of morning in bed, watching rom-coms on Netflix and being lazy
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then I can guarantee you that my class notes for the day will look a little like this.

Here’s hoping today is better than yesterday for my attention span.

Trouble, Trouble

Posted on by Meredith Rines, MBA, CFP®

Is this not the face of one pup that knows she’s in trouble, but is hoping that this pathetic look will make it all go away?  I get this look … a lot.  Maggie is a very well-behaved pup, normally.  She does like to push her limits though.  When she does, I get this look. It works.  Every time.  That look can melt my heart so fast.

twirly, twirly, twirly

Posted on by Meredith Rines, MBA, CFP®

When I was a little girl my favorite game to play was dress-up.  My mom would save what I called “twirly dresses” where I could spin and spin in them.  I dreamt of this life where I would be able to wear fancy dresses on a regular basis, have my hair beautified.

I was the little girl who would play in my Mom’s makeup collection.  I would step away with makeup caked on, mascara all over my eyes and the brightest lipstick shade that I could find.

Years later, I’m still that same little girl when it comes to getting dressed up.  Well, minus the mascara all over my face.  I have a little bit more skill in applying makeup these days.  Although, I find that I still like the bright lipstick from time to time.

J and I went out for a night on the town a few weeks ago for a red carpet night at a local bar.  It was nice getting all dolled up and meeting up with friends for a good stiff drink.