Who MERESAL... tell us about you!!

[cbs102]

You are a fixture here on Pricescope. Tell us all your life story!!!

 

[trillionaire]

yes, please!

 

[PrincessDijon]

I wanna know too!

 

[meresal]

You gals are crazy! I'm so flattered that you all are interested. My life story only spans a quarter of a century, but I'll try to make it as interesting as possible.

Cbs: Where the heck have you been?! I was thinking about you earlier this week. I hope everything has gotten better.


I'm about to leave my office, so I'll post again this evening when I return to my hotel.

 

[Skippy123]

I would like to know too! Did you see the lifetime movie the Christmas shoes? Or just know the song? Your picture in your avatar is adorable!

 

[cbs102]

Date: 10/22/2008 5:40:56 PM
Author: meresal
You gals are crazy! I'm so flattered that you all are interested. My life story only spans a quarter of a century, but I'll try to make it as interesting as possible.


Cbs: Where the heck have you been?! I was thinking about you earlier this week. I hope everything has gotten better.



I'm about to leave my office, so I'll post again this evening when I return to my hotel.

i am good!!! everything is figured out!!! been sick with severe asthma but i have been around!!! thanks for askin girly! now fill us in on your life!

 

[meresal]

Hi Skippy!! Thank you, it's from C and I's trip to NYC in August. I actually have not seen the movie. To be honest I can barely make it through the song with out crying, I'm sure the movie would send me into complete hysterics. I am actually a very emotional person. Can't look at family photo albums without crying, or talk about old trips. I even cry during some Hallmark commercials around the holidays.


Ok, well, I am the youngest of 5 kids. I have three older sisters and one older brother; They are all half siblings. Oldest sister (Mi) was 16 when I was born, and second oldest sister (D) was 14 when I was born. They are both from my Dad's previous marriage. Brother (J) was 11 when I was born, and third oldest sister (Mel) was 9. They are from my mom's previous marriage. When I was young they all adored me. Mel actually took me to "show and tell" one year. I have always been a Daddy's-girl, and I was by far the closest with my brother. I worshiped the ground he walked on, and even cut the hair that was to my lower back, into a chili-bowl just to be more like him. He loves telling that story.

I have always been very athletic, and my life has pretty much always centered around sports. Starting at 5 I played t-ball, soccer, basketball, swam, golf with my parents, and tennis around our country club. I have amazing parents that have always been there for me. Drove me to every practice, participated in every girl scout event, and put me in numerous summer camps every year. Things were perfect pretty much all the way up till I started high school. My brother was at UT, and got a girlfriend that refused to let him spend time with us. He never came home, and I was the only one in the family that got a birthday card every year. It was extremely hard for me. I wasn't close with any of my sisters or my mom. By this time I was playing Basketball and Golf, and had the worlds worst BF. My dad hated him, and I still hate to this day that I didn't listen to him back then. Ohh well. I played on a regional AAU basketball team until Sophomore yr of high school, but decided to give it up to play golf instead. Junior year of high school I was invited to play at Junior World tournament in La Jolla California. It was amazing to be in the same field with so many amazing players. (This is a tournament that Tiger Woods played in as a junior)

College came, I got a full ride to a school just south of Austin to play golf. My parents bought me a brand new Lexus, which I cherished/cherish!! (I plan on keeping this baby for a good long time!!). This caused a huge problem between me and sister Mel. She had married 2 years prior and moved out of the country. She was feeling very lonely, felt that my parents had "cast her aside" and decided to take it out on me. Oh course me... If I hadn't come along, then she would be the baby. For the next 3 years of my life, anytime that she was around the house she made sure to make me feel like hell. I would write my parents notes on their white-board when I left the time before, only to come home and see that there were lines thru it, or a finger mark showing that someone had swiped across what I had written. I could go on and on and on, but if anyone has had a kniving sibling you know where I'm coming from. She made all family get togethers pure torture. In her eyes, our parents thought that I was the perfect child, and nothing could prove her wrong. During this time I becasme very close with my mom, and it's one of the best things that could have ever happened. She is the most amazing woman I've ever met, and has the kindest heart. I've learned so much from her, and just love watching her around the house when I'm home. My dad always says that she is the best thing that ever happened to our family, and I couldn't agree more. She's wonderful.

I played golf all four years, and graduated on time as well. I had a boyfriend in college that I thought I would be with forever. Turned out he didn't. 3 yrs down the drain, and then another yr wasted trying to convinve him otherwise. Young and dumb, but so happy that it didn't work out now. We are two completely different people. That break-up cuased me to become extremely depressed, and mainly due to the fact that I sulked in my own pity. I had the worlds worst golf coach, that hated me, literally hated me. However, I stuck around for all 4 years becasue I was so scared about what I was going to do without sports in my life. How would I spend my days? I'm actually fearful of many things, and slowly deal with each one as I realize it. Not snakes, or heights, but the fact that I used to cry and wallow at getting older, or imagining who I could loose in my life and how devastated I would be. These are all things that I did alot of when I was extremely unhappy. I was on medication and am a much better person for it.

Now to the great stuff:
My FI and I have been best friends for 4 years, and dating for 2. Our story is interesting. We met my first weekend in college and dated for about 2 months. The first night we met, we sat at a booth in a bar and talked for 2 hours straight. I was smitten, and knew it was something special. However, one day he stopped answering my calls. I didn't speak to him for over a year. He avoided me like the plague, mainly because of fear. He would see me in a bar and dart the other direction. About a year after that, we were at a party, started talking again, and began to build a great friendship. We both went thru break-ups at the same time and used alot of that time to talk and became alot closer. My last year of school we were talking all the time. He was my best guy friend. He graduated and moved back to Houston, and I graduated and moved back home to DFW for a job. 3 months later we decided to start dating, and 9 months after that I packed up my stuff an moved to Houston in Spring of 2007. I was in love. It's still hard to think about leaving my parents, but I go home every few months, and I know I always will. They're my rock.

I know this whole thing is kind of scattered, but that is me. I write what I'm thinking, and alot of the time it has no real structure. (I'll have to keep writing later... sorry. Meeting up with a friend.)

 

[Skippy123]

Ah, that is sweet you are so close w/your parents. You have to see the movie; you would think it is sweet! You are such a sweetie pie; I look forward to reading more.

 

[meresal]

Date: 10/22/2008 11:16:43 PM
Author: Skippy123
Ah, that is sweet you are so close w/your parents. You have to see the movie; you would think it is sweet! You are such a sweetie pie; I look forward to reading more.

Skippy, you are so nice. I''ll have to be sure to sit down and watch it this holiday!!

 

[cbs102]

mer,
thanks so much for sharing!! you do not seem scattered at all. you sound like you have lived through some heartache and can now lucidly speak about it.

do you still not talk to your brother?

 

[meresal]

Since moving to Houston, things have been crazy. I left a good job (great company), that I was bored with, but was at the top of my field at 23 and moving up fast... to manage a designer wedding dress shop. (I am VERY spontaneous). After working at the salon for 3 months and dealing with the most inept business owners ever, they actually fired me. Didn't like my business proposals, I suppose. I filed for unlawful firing, won, and was on unemployment for 3 months, when I found the job I currently do. I should have seen what was coming when they asked me to start on Christmas Eve. It's a job, but I won't be here for all that long. A few more years at least. I work for a bank, dealing with municipal bonds. Exciting, I know.

We are actually one of the 9 banks chosen by the government to invest in, and will be doing all the accounting back up for the new "Plan".

Two and a half months ago, C and I went on a trip to NYC, where he proposed to me right in the middle of Times Square. It was one of the happiest nights of my life. We had an amazing trip and did some really wonderful things. One month later, Sept 13, Hurricane Ike hit, and everything has been flipped upside down. Our place on the water was perfectly fine, but my office building downtown was ravaged. I have now been working out of our Austin offices, and living out of a hotel room for 6 weeks. I've seen C almost each weekend, but it's been hard. Only one more month, then we'll be back in our offices on Nov 17th, and I'll move back home!

About me:
I love to travel. It's my passion. I've been on 4 cruises, and to more countries than I can count. For graduation from college, my mom and I took a 2 week trip that included: NYC, London, Zurich, (get on Mediterranean cruise)Barcelona, Messina, Naples, Pompeii, Rome, FLorence, Nice, (exit ship back in Barcelona), then to Madrid, and back to the US. It was amazing, and an experience I will never forget. I've almost convinced C to let us go do the Eastern Med for our honeymoon. It woudl be absolutely wonderful, and right at the beginning of August, warm!!
When I was younger my family spent 2 Christmas Holidays at Club Med in Hualtulco, Mexico. Back in 94 and 95, when they were still incredible getaways. It was so much fun. I'd love to take my family on a few of those once we have a family.

C and I play in a softball league one night a week. It's nice to get out and do something fun, other than run on a treadmill. We are very competitive so it's fun for us to share the excitement. Other than work from sun up to sun down right now, I'm just trying to get as much wedding planning done as possible. Which is not much at all.

I live life to the fullest and you'll rarely see me without a smile on my face. I enjoy everything that life throws at me. I've been known to pack up my stuff and jet away for the weekend at a moments notice. Not always to exotic places, but sometimes just to see friends that I really miss.

I think I've covered everything. If you want to know anything else, or any more about what I wrote, just ask!!

 

[meresal]

Date: 10/23/2008 8:54:15 AM
Author: cbs102
mer,
thanks so much for sharing!! you do not seem scattered at all. you sound like you have lived through some heartache and can now lucidly speak about it.

do you still not talk to your brother?

I'm glad everything is going well for you again!! Sorry to hear about the asthma though, that's rough.

ETA: I personally feel that speaking about it is the only way to cope with it. I've held things in before, and it did me no good at all.

My brother is an interesting story. We do talk now, and he is slowly creating a better relationship with my mom and dad again. I held alot of resentment towards him for some decisions he made in college (I was in middle school), that made it very stressful around my house when he would come home... hence he stopped coming home, and I lost my best friend (Though it felt like I lost him the minute he was dropped off at college). Where some girls look to other guys for attention because they don't have father figures, I looked to other guys because I didn't have a brother/friend figure. I still have a very hard time trusting him. C met him about a month ago, and wants him to be a groomsman in the wedding, however I'm very skeptical. He didn't show up to his own his sister Mel's wedding that he was supposed to be in, and I know that it would break my heart if he did that to me. (Also, I can't even explain the issues it would cause if he showed up for my wedding, after not showing up for Mel's) The good thing is that we are working on it, and all I can hope for is that everything will be alright. We'll never be the way we could have been, but I try really hard not to look back and think those things, because I actually don't know what could have been.

 

[meresal]

Can''t believe I almost forgot. FI and I are diehard sports fans. He''s Astros/Texans, and I''m Rangers/Cowboys. Two weeks a year it gets very interesting around the household. I was hoping that the World Series would be Red Sox v. Angels, but C is really pulling for the Rays. We''ll see...

We have season tickets to the Texans, so I go and do my duty to cheer. It''s actually quite fun, and to be honest I think I might be moving over to the Texans side, though I''ll never tell FI. He will never let me live it down. Maybe I''ll tell him on our wedding night.

 

[BeachRunner]

You can wear a Texans garter, and let him be surprised that way! I''m sure that will really shock him!

Thanks for sharing your story!

 

[Skippy123]

What are your favorite movies? music? foods?

 

[monarch64]

Hi Meresal! I was glad to see a Who''s Who thread on you, I am enjoying reading all about you!

 

[Maisie]

Hi Meresal

You are truly blessed to have parents who love you as much as they do.. and who you can have a fabulous relationship with.

 

[meresal]

Date: 11/19/2008 12:55:22 PM
Author: Skippy123
What are your favorite movies? music? foods?

Movies: Well... I love watching great love stories and romantic comedies. I actually like lots of different types movies, but there are only a few that I can watch multiple times. C has all the DVD's because to me they are a huge waste of money. I only watch them once usually. I can't handle old musicals, where two actors will be dancing and then all of a sudden break into song that lasts for 5 minutes; I will leave the room. (My parents still trick me into sitting down to watch old movies with them, knowing there will be a huge song number coming up.)
Some of the ones I can watch multiple times:
- A Christmas Story
- Father of the Bride
- Arlington Road
- The Program
- Hoosiers
- Office space
- La Bamba (Yes, it's one of my favorites!!)
- Dirty Dancing
- I used to watch Fried Green Tomatos everytime it came on... and cry (I was like 10 or 11, what a dork)
- I watch TCM and AMC with my parents
- and some others but I'm drawing a total blank...

Music: I love Country. However, C only listens to Rap (he's a Houston boy), so I take advantage of the radio anytime we're in my car. My dad got me hooked on Billy Joel when I was in high school, who is probably my favorite artist. I have the box set for ALL of my road trips!! I know the words to more oldies songs than songs from the 90's and recent. He quizes me on singers while riding in the car... if I don't know it I just answer Mamma's and the Papa's.

Mmmm, Food: Steak, steak, and more steak! I really like vegetables, mainly steamed. I'm always looking out for hole-in-the-wall Mexican joints around Texas, they have the BEST food! I like Barbeque, there's a great place here in Austin; and another in my home town that has the coldest beer I've ever tasted. I also have sushi once a week and italian every now and then. C and I eat Luby's every Sunday night. I don't care what anyone says, it's great!

 

[meresal]

Thanks for reading Monarch!

Maisie: I have indeed been very blessed, and I'm thankful for it everyday. Thank you. I only hope that I can have such a close relationship with my future children one day. I know kids are stressful, and I've done my fair share to my parents, but I know they are extremely proud of me, and it means the world to me to hear them say that.

ETA: Maisie, I love hearing you talk about your son. It's so heart warming.

 

[monarch64]

Hoosiers and Fried Green Tomatoes are two of my favorite movies! I''m a Hoosier myself (although not in the basketball sense) so I''ve seen them movie a bajillion times. I started watching FGT when I took a Women''s Studies course in college, fell in love with it, have probably seen it 20 times now!

 

[Skippy123]

Date: 11/19/2008 3:44:34 PM
Author: meresal

Date: 11/19/2008 12:55:22 PM
Author: Skippy123
What are your favorite movies? music? foods?

Movies: Well... I love watching great love stories and romantic comedies. I actually like lots of different types movies, but there are only a few that I can watch multiple times. C has all the DVD's because to me they are a huge waste of money. I only watch them once usually. I can't handle old musicals, where two actors will be dancing and then all of a sudden break into song that lasts for 5 minutes; I will leave the room. (My parents still trick me into sitting down to watch old movies with them, knowing there will be a huge song number coming up.)
Some of the ones I can watch multiple times:
- A Christmas Story
- Father of the Bride
- Arlington Road
- The Program
- Hoosiers
- Office space
- La Bamba (Yes, it's one of my favorites!!)
- Dirty Dancing
- I used to watch Fried Green Tomatos everytime it came on... and cry (I was like 10 or 11, what a dork)
- I watch TCM and AMC with my parents
- and some others but I'm drawing a total blank...

Music: I love Country. However, C only listens to Rap (he's a Houston boy), so I take advantage of the radio anytime we're in my car. My dad got me hooked on Billy Joel when I was in high school, who is probably my favorite artist. I have the box set for ALL of my road trips!! I know the words to more oldies songs than songs from the 90's and recent. He quizes me on singers while riding in the car... if I don't know it I just answer Mamma's and the Papa's.

Mmmm, Food: Steak, steak, and more steak! I really like vegetables, mainly steamed. I'm always looking out for hole-in-the-wall Mexican joints around Texas, they have the BEST food! I like Barbeque, there's a great place here in Austin; and another in my home town that has the coldest beer I've ever tasted. I also have sushi once a week and italian every now and then. C and I eat Luby's every Sunday night. I don't care what anyone says, it's great!

Which old movies do you watch with your parents? Have you seen Sunset Blvd; I saw that on AMC recently and it is so good!!!! Ah, that is the sweetest you are so close with with your parents! I can totally tell you are sweet and just love life!
You are your sweetie sound adorable! LOL to the mamas and papas. hehe

I haven't seen Fried Green Tomatos; I will have to watch it. I love Office Space! I hate Musicals too, except for White Christmas but the rest I can't handle. haha I got tricked by a friend into seeing Chicago; I got after her! Glad to know I am not alone

Do you like road trips? I love them for some reason; it is the best time to talk too w/whom ever you are traveling with. hehe Yum, I like a good steak! Thanks for sharing!

 

[meresal]

Date: 11/19/2008 7:04:49 PM
Author: Skippy123
Which old movies do you watch with your parents? Have you seen Sunset Blvd; I saw that on AMC recently and it is so good!!!! Ah, that is the sweetest you are so close with with your parents! I can totally tell you are sweet and just love life!
You are your sweetie sound adorable! LOL to the mamas and papas. hehe

I haven't seen Fried Green Tomatos; I will have to watch it. I love Office Space! I hate Musicals too, except for White Christmas but the rest I can't handle. haha I got tricked by a friend into seeing Chicago; I got after her! Glad to know I am not alone

Do you like road trips? I love them for some reason; it is the best time to talk too w/whom ever you are traveling with. hehe Yum, I like a good steak! Thanks for sharing!

Skippy, I missed your post of so many months ago, but thought I would answer, becasue I'm actually going on a road trip in a month! I do LOVE them! I can honestly say, that road trips with the girls are the only time you will hear me belting out to Britany Spears and old N'Sync hits. lol, So embarassing. Every spring we do a girls trip and this year we've decided on Shreveport. 5 hours each way, and I'm stoked! I know exactly what you mean about talking, it seems like the road really allows you to open up about things. I think I learn something new about Chris everytime we take a road trip.

Ohh Chicago... what a wonderful 3 hours I wasted

. Something else we can agree on, hehe. What's funny, is I really enjoy broadway musicals in person, it's just those old movies that rattle me to my core. No clue why? Chris and I are going to see "Legally Blonde" Friday night. His favorite is "Avenue Q", and we both loved "Jersey Boys" when we saw it last year.

As far as all the TCM and AMC movies, I'd have to devote an entire day to making a list and searching plot lines on google. I can't remember many of the titles, and it's hopeless to search by actor/actress... it seems there just weren't many to go around back then.

Which are your favorites, other than White Christmas? I didn't get a chance to see Christmas Shoes this Holiday, but it is on my to-do list for the Spring

.

 

[trillionaire]

More Q''s!

Wedding stuff!

Theme?

Fav. Flowers?

Colors?

Setting?

Size?

 

[Skippy123]

What do you plan to see or do in Shreveport? I only drove through Shreveport and it was on a road trip to Savannah. I had never been in the south before and was quite taken by the swamps; something I had never seen before either!! It is all very cool!

I love so many old movies; I saw Rebecca recently (Alfred Hitchcock). I actually like all his movies, Rear Window, Psycho, the Birds, and Vertigo. Do you like his movies? I have seen a few silly Marlon Monroe movies but one of my favorites is Sunset Blvd.

You seem like a very happy person!! Just curious what makes you happy in general? Not sure if that is a weird question but I get asked that question often so now when I see other happy people I wonder what makes them happy too.

 

[meresal]

More Q's!

Wedding stuff!

Theme? ... kind of a Timeless. Elegant. Unforgettable. (Sounds super cheesy but it's exactly what I'm going for.

)

Fav. Flowers?
Receiving them: I like anything but Red roses. That just seems so easy.
Sending them: I sent my mom peach/white roses for Mother's Day last year, and they were gorgeous. She was so surprised and loved them.
Around the house: cut Gardenias floating in bowls in the bathrooms. I can always tell when they are blooming, it's my favorite smelling flower. Her, FMIL, and Chris will wear them as their bout's(sp??) for the wedding.

Tulips are my favorite flower in a bunch.

Colors?
Black/Ivory/Champagne

Setting?
It's a Martin Flyer

The wedding will be at the church I grew up in, and the receptuion will be at the fort worth club in downtown fort worth. Tvery event the entire weekend will be within a 1 mile radius. No one will ever have to leave the downtown area. It's one of my favorite places to be, and there is tons of stuff to do.

Size?
We are hoping for 250 ppl or less

 

[tlh]

Meresal - I absolutely adore you! I love all of your posts, and know you post with such heart, and PASSION! Also, you are sooo beautiful! (and your man aint too shabby either, WINK!)

Question, TO- like ''em or not? Romo and Simpson... feelings?

 

[meresal]

Date: 2/12/2009 7:10:38 AM
Author: Skippy123
What do you plan to see or do in Shreveport? I only drove through Shreveport and it was on a road trip to Savannah. I had never been in the south before and was quite taken by the swamps; something I had never seen before either!! It is all very cool!

I love so many old movies; I saw Rebecca recently (Alfred Hitchcock). I actually like all his movies, Rear Window, Psycho, the Birds, and Vertigo. Do you like his movies? I have seen a few silly Marlon Monroe movies but one of my favorites is Sunset Blvd.

You seem like a very happy person!! Just curious what makes you happy in general? Not sure if that is a weird question but I get asked that question often so now when I see other happy people I wonder what makes them happy too.

Well, we will only be there for 2 days and one night, so I'm guessing we won't be doing much other than the casino.

We'll probably just fnid a nice place to have dinner, and hunker down around a welcome looking bar. Taken by the swamps, ehh? Now you're just trying to make me feel good

I love Hitchock; Birds and Psycho are two of my favorite movies! I took a cinematogoraphy class in high school, and got to study lots of old movies. Cassablanca, Birds, Citizen Cane, etc. We watched a movie a week, I wish I could remember all of them... Maybe All Quiet on the Western Front, but not sure. Some real greats.

I try hard at being a happy person!! Thanks for noticing. Not a wqeird question at all. I enjoy being around happy people, and it all has to do with how you handle things. I believe that you can find a positive in every situation, and I just try my hardest to focus on that instead of the negatives. It's just natural now. Chris can be a negative person sometimes, so I make sure to point out everytime he complains about something that can't be fixed.

He's coming around.
I think that my own decisions and thoughts had alot to do with why I was depressed, and so I know first hand how thinking positively can change your entire outlook on life.
Things that make me happy, are sunny days, dew on the golf course in the morning, going to the park with the dogs, etc. I could go on. I love to volunteeer. Usually at a day shelter here by my work. It makes it really hard to get mad about breaking a heel, when I see hundreds of people that never take the same pair of shoes off, or missing my bus home, when I should just be thankful that I have a family waiting for me. It's all about how you look at things

Tlh: You are so sweet!! {{{Huge Hug}}} I LOVE LOVE LOVE T.O.!!!

Who is the Romo you speak of???

Never liked him, not since day one.

 

[tlh]

I too volunteered at an animal shelter, for about 4 years. What is your "area"... puppy room, big dogs, or kitty corner?

 

[meresal]

Date: 2/12/2009 2:45:10 PM
Author: tlh
I too volunteered at an animal shelter, for about 4 years. What is your ''area''... puppy room, big dogs, or kitty corner?

Hahaha, Tlh, I volunteer at a day shelter for homeless people. They can eat, wash their clothes, and take showers. I''d love to volunteer at an animal shelter, but the ones here are very strict about who they let with the animals. I''m a dog person though.

 

[tlh]

Date: 2/12/2009 2:47:31 PM
Author: meresal

Hahaha, Tlh, I volunteer at a day shelter for homeless people. They can eat, wash their clothes, and take showers. I''d love to volunteer at an animal shelter, but the ones here are very strict about who they let with the animals. I''m a dog person though.

That is amazing! You really have a big heart!
I''ve been to Houston, my BFF lives outside of there in Cyprus. I was really surprised by how flat it is there! and the mosquitos! What a shock! I thought I landed in MN for a second!

what is one thing you and your FI do together when no one is looking? (no, I''m not being dirty!)