clumsy

oh so sad. i am bummed. i was doing SO good too. i have the worst luck with cars. i don't think there has been ONE car we have owned that i haven't had something bad happen to {my fault}. i had a decent day until i got home and was trying to park my car in the garage. now...our garage is supposed to house TWO cars, but there is a shelf that was built in on one side and i was parking outside the garage for the longest time but thought it would be nice to park next to Tim!

so a few weekends ago i cleaned up and organized the garage. i SHOULD HAVE thrown out our bikes {mine & Tim's}. i couldn't tell you the last time we rode them. just to give you a clear imagine, MINE still has the baby seat on the back! and Haylee has not been for a ride since she was probably 2. and she's 6. there ya go. image clear???

anyway...of course the stupid bikes are on MY side. so i'm pulling in the garage, trying not to bump into Tim's car {he was in it waiting for me to pull in so he could drive out and go to the gym}. lo and behold...today was the day! the day i would screw up my PERFECT, SCRATCH AND DENT FREE beautiful silver car. :( i pulled TOO close to Tim's bike and sure enough....eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeek. i cringed and Tim gave me the look of horror as i backed up so he could look at the damage i caused.

thankfully enough, just by glancing at the car you can't really tell it's there, it's that low and it's on the front bumper, near the tire on the right side of the car. it sort of blends in as far as a DEEP gauge can blend in any car. :( i cried and cried and cried. Haylee was trying to console me saying "it was just an accident momma, it's ok". but i know that. it's just, well, i'm so clumsy and dumb when it comes to cars i guess. i was hoping i wouldn't do anything stupid like this for a long long time. what a dope!

no wonder Tim doesn't want me to ever drive his car. :) seriously though, WHAT is wrong with me? why do i do this? i know it's because i was just excited to get home and i saw Tim in the garage and my depth perception was off by 1/2 inch....a HALF inch more away from the bikes and my car would've been FINE! ahhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!

i'm so sad this happened. thankfully it wasn't worse. i guess my scratches are getting more and more MINOR. a couple of years ago i ran our Altima (our ONLY car, we shared) into the side of our 1-car garage and dented and took all the paint off. the car before that was the Blazer (my car) and i got into not one, but 2 accidents....both on the rear bumper (both my fault). oh and i also got into a minor accident with the aforementioned Altima a couple of years ago also i was getting on the wrong freeway, got scared...jumped the curb, dented BOTH of my hub cabs on the right side of the car...i bent them and they let air out of BOTH tires on that side of the car. i sat in a Lutheran church parking lot and sobbed. and waited. ugh it was a nightmare.

i probably shouldn't be driving period. ugh.

more fun things...

i'm addicted to these things...i never get tired of them! {sorry if you do...hee hee}

1.  What time did you get up this morning? 6:15am

2.  Diamonds or pearls? Diamonds

3.  What was the last film you saw at the cinema? Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2

4.  What is your favorite TV show? The Office

5.  What do you usually have for breakfast? coffee & some sort of small food like nutragrain, bagel or fruit

6. What is your middle name? Marie

7.  What food do you dislike?  egg plant

8.  What is your favorite CD at moment? Tenth Avenue North

9.  What kind of car do you drive? Nissan Sentra

10.  Favorite sandwich? turkey & colby cheese

11.  What characteristics do you despise?  immaturity, dishonesty, gossip, judgmental, narcissistic people

12.  Favorite item of clothing?  my jeans

13.  If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation, where would you go?  Germany

14.  Favorite brand of clothing?  O'Neil & Roxy

15.  Where would you retire to? here or Colorado

16.  What was your most recent memorable birthday? (I am starting to realize I just took this survey...lol)...
hmm...the time Tim surprised me with a mystery murder dinner date on a cruise boat!

17.  Favorite sport to watch?  ha ha ha ha ha...oh maybe the Bumble Bees playing soccer. :)

18.  Furthest place you are sending this?  good question...it's on my blog so Lord only knows. ;)

19.  Person you expect to send it back first? heeeeeee....

20.  When is your birthday?  November 20th, 1979

21.  Are you a morning person or a night person? Morning

22.  What is your shoe size? 7

23.  Pets?  one smelly dog  named Miley (i call her My-My)

24.  Any new and exciting news you'd like to share with us?  my new Bible study ROCKS!  and i'm going to start going
to the gym with my friend Lisa on our lunch break 2-3 times a week...i'm pumped!  ya!

25.  What did you want to be when you were little? a vet until i realized they have to also see blood and then i quickly
changed my mind...

26.  How are you today?  really really GOOD thanks to some awesome friends. :)

27.  What is your favorite candy? reese's peanut butter cups (original)

28. What was the last kind of flowers you got? roses!

29.  What is a day on the calendar you are looking forward to? oct 18th, our big Halloween shabang!

30.  What is your full name? Melissa Marie De Mers

31.  What are you listening to right now? Tim talking on the phone to his brother & the A/C

32.  What was the last thing you ate? some GREAT pizza that TORE my stomach up :(

33.  Do you wish on stars? no
34.  If you were a crayon, what color would you be? a pretty one :)

35.  How is the weather right now? it was hot today!

36.  The first person you spoke to on the phone today? Stephanie

37.  Favorite soft drink? Diet anything

38.  Favorite restaurant?  Buca Di Beppo

39.  Real hair color?  Brown (what you see now is all natural baby)

40.  What was your favorite toy as a child? barbies, rainbow brite and wonder woman was my fav hero!

41.  Summer or winter? winter

42.  Hugs or kisses? HUGS

43.  Chocolate or Vanilla?   vanilla

44.  Coffee or tea?  coffee & chai tea :)

45.  Do you want your friends to email you back? don't care :)

46.  When was the last time you cried? last night...almost this morning

47.  What is under your bed? ohhhh scary stuff, i don't know

48.  What did you do last night?  slept :)

49.  What are you afraid of?  SNAKES

50.  Salty or sweet? salty & sweet

51.  How many keys on your key ring? 3

52.  How many years at your current job? 1 yr, and almost 4 months

53.   Favorite day of the week?  Saturday

54.   How many towns have you lived in? a lot of towns....

55.   Do you make friends easily? i guess

56.   How many people will you send this? everyone!

abc's...

thanks jen for making me smile. you know i love these things...

A - Available/Single? No
B - Best Friend? ...I have a handful of close friends
C - Cake or Pie? Pie
D - Drink Of Choice? water with lemon or pomegranite & blueberry honest ade
E - Essential Item You Use Everyday? toothbrush :)
F - Favorite Color? aqua marine blue
G - Gummy Bears Or Worms? Bears
H - Hair Style? shorter and choppy and messy
I - Indulgence? ice cream and books :)
J - January Or February? either or...lol.
K - Kids & Their Names? Haylee...she's a loner...
L - Life Is Incomplete Without? family and friends
M - Marriage Date? 9/11/1999
N - Number Of Siblings? 1 sister - Liz, 1 (half) brother - Eric, 1 (half) sister - Courtney (don't see Court nearly enough...she lives with my Dad)
O - Oranges Or Apples? i like both
P - Phobias/Fears? i have too many personal fears to name (i have issues, lol) but i do have a serious phobia of SNAKES.
Q - Favorite Quote? Jen...yours was one of my favs too...I also like Phil 4:13...I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. I also love ee cummings quotes/poetry and a few quotes from the book Ender's Game are really cool (in fact, see my facebook for a list of my fav quotes!)
R - Reason to Smile? i don't really need a reason...i just do most of the time. :)
S - Season? fall
T - Tag Three People? 1. Liz, 2. Paula 3. Julie
U - Unknown Fact About Me? Then it wouldn't be unknown. (i love this answer!)
V - Vegetable you don't like? egg plant
W - Worst Habit? i offend easily, but i'm working on it. ;)
X - X-rays You've Had? teeth and i think i had one when i was young and in a horrible car accident.
Y - Your Favorite Food? anything italian
Z - Zodiac Sign? scorpio

my heart hurts

today went well actually at work and all was decent, with the exception of one of my friends going through something tough.  poor girl.  i felt bad for her, i hope she can pull through this, i know she will.  she has good friends.  :)

my heart is aching tonight though...i need your prayers PLEASE.  my step-dad's father...who we've always called papaw (his name is Bill Meahan) - well his lung cancer has come out of remission AND it's spread to his throat and other parts of his body.  my mom emailed me tonight to tell me that he called her in tears and said he cannot have radiation again (he had it in 1997 before he had chemo and they don't think his body could handle another radiation i guess).  he is, however, going through chemo again.  i could not imagine going through chemo once, let alone twice.  i have known many people with cancer and it's horrible.  

papaw is the SWEETEST guy i know.  he is just the most caring, funny, loving grandpa i've ever had {well, that i can remember having at least}.  i haven't seen him in about 4 years and i am sad about that, but he lives in the midwest so it's hard for us to see him a lot.  i believe he is a Christian and i am just heart broken for him and my family.  

cancer is an ugly ugly thing and i just wish we could find a cure for it.  i'm afraid we won't in this lifetime...but i just need your prayers please.  i'm sure most of you have experienced a love one who has gone through this...and i've gone through it before in '97 when papaw had it the first time and then my mother in law having cancer...but they went into remission.  i know i'm speaking in circles now, i'm just shocked and sad.  thanks for thinking of my family.  praying for you papaw Meahan...we love you so much.

perfect love casts out all fear

wow. what a great day. there are many things about the day that i could blog about but let's just leave it at it was a much better day for me than yesterday and the day before. i realized something about myself that i didn't really know...that i still have to work {hard} at the relationships in my life. nothing's ever easy...one wise person once said! with that said...i love my friends. i may not always agree with things, as i am SURE they don't always agree or like the way i do things. it's amazing how different we all really are...but my friends are great and i don't know what i would do without them.

ok now onto Bible study tonight...another wow! i mean it, oh my gosh my God is awesome and wonderful. when i signed up for this study i really wasn't sure what to expect at all. i just knew that it looked fun...bright colors, food, a bunch of ladies and a Tuesday night to learn about God and the Bible. why not? i also thought my friend was going to join with me, but her life is a little crazy right now so she was not able to, which is fine...but i hate doing things alone. i think, scratch that...i KNOW that God knew this and He also knew that i didn't have many friends at my church.

so awesome as He is, he put me in a small group {which was revealed to us tonight} with about 10 other 20-something year old ladies. what's more is that each one of them, i feel like i can relate to! and i just met them tonight!! one girl even works in the SAME BUILDING as i do...which is crazy because it's a huge church and on so many levels this could be considered a COINCIDENCE, IF i believed in them...which i don't. :) two ladies in the group have small children, just like me. one other girl works in an accounting firm. one girl is really into artistic things like me. the two leaders are down-to-earth girls just like ME. one girl is FROM Colorado and one girl is praying about either staying in California or moving to Colorado...which might not mean much to you unless you know that Tim and I may eventually want to retire to Colorado because California is crazy expensive. this will be many years down the road, but i just thought that was AWESOME. there's a girl with a nose piercing and a girl with a tattoo INSIDE HER MOUTH that says "courageous faith"...who shared her story of wanting to do outreach ministries. there are down to EARTH people in my group and God KNEW....HE KNEW that is what i would need. randomness. this group fits me like a glove. i stand amazed.

i was so incredibly excited and pumped after my Bible study tonight and even though i was one of the most introverted, QUIET people in the group i thought it was just so good and touched my heart. and made me realize that i need NOT be afraid. for perfect love {aka...GOD'S LOVE} casts out ALL fear. i need not be shy and i ought to open up more. i am here for a reason and i am just stoked for what is in store for me.

that being said...oh i'm energetic now! :) i have to wake up EARLY and be at work at 7:30am tomorrow for an 8am meeting {to help set up of course}. so that should be fun. tomorrow Haylee also has Picture Day! and soccer practice! i have to set up the mid-year soccer celebration at Lampost pizza tomorrow to {for the following Wednesday}. busy busy! oh and Haylee's math test is tomorrow...if you could please think & pray for her. she was SO sweet today, she had a practice quiz and brought it home. she missed 5 out of 24 questions and said "momma, are you proud of me? i just want you to be happy with me.". it almost made me cry. it's hard to teach her not to be so chatty in school and FOCUS and just not get distracted. hard because i am exactly like that...she gets that from me. i just want her to know that i will always be proud of her. she is my life. how do you get that across to a 6 year old? :)

have a super great day....thanks for reading. xoxo

how do you see it?

well it's my co-workers' lunch break, so that means i am playing receptionist right now. :) so i have a minute to blog...and i was looking at the new image i put on my blog of my name {see header} and i was wondering...how does it look on your computer?

on tim's laptop at home when i look at it, the "melissa" looks like it's over to the far left...but at work when i'm looking at it, the "melissa" img is centered...so weird! could have something to do with tim's laptop being mac also {i love mac!}. just wanted to know how it looks from YOUR end. drop me a comment and let me know please!

also i am feeling better today. i have some really true friends and we grabbed lunch today and we all spilled out guts, complained and laughed until we cried together. it was awesome as always. it's great to know other people who can sympathize with you and make you laugh SO hard that you nearly wet your pants and split your sides....simply awesome.

push over

sometimes i wish i wasn't such a push over. i get so discouraged and upset in people and their character flaws. i know i have my own and i shouldn't, but it's hard sometimes. i'm a little irritated right now with something that happened, but i've been praying about it all day and have come to the conclusion that i'll just blog and keep my focus on the things in life that REALLY do matter most to me...like my family and God himself.

i ran across a verse today in my Bible study (which i did for an hour and a half today after dwelling on something that was bothering me...it helped!). i don't remember the source or anything by heart but basically it said that the world will fail you, but Christ never fails. i find that SO true. putting your faith in human beings only causes heart ache. i guess i should have known really because all my life i feel like i've let people run all over me. in more ways than one. and i never stand up for what i think {i try not to cause conflict because that bothers me more}. so people just think they can say one thing and do another and i let them. i have to learn how to overcome that, and i'm praying that God shows me how exactly. i don't know if that made any sense at all.

maybe my expectations for friends and family is just too high? i'm not sure. i think my biggest thing lately has been planning things...i plan for months in advance and hound people until {i think} they feel obligated to go and then at the last moment everyone bales out. :) i totally get it though, i can be kind of like a little kid when it comes to things like that. i just want everyone to go and be apart of something i'm excited/passionate about and it does not always happen. i kind of think God must be trying to teaching me about something when it comes to this because it has been happening ALOT recently. i get really bummed out about it also. maybe He is trying to tell me not to put trust into PEOPLE and MATERIAL things, but in HIM alone?

if you could pray for me...it's been weighing heavy on my heart today/tonight. i just am really upset/hurt over it and i don't want the people involved to be upset over it because i understand that is just us as human beings. it's kind of hard not to take personally though. we are planning a Halloween party for Oct 18th and i have decided that i don't really care who shows up. i have sent the evite, i have made the announcement on my blog, sent out emails...if you want to come, awesome. if not, awesome. lol!

i don't want to have an "i don't care" attitude, but i guess in a way you have to at times. ;) a couple of times i've planned get togethers and parties and no one shows...i plan a trip (a MONTH in advance...i think even OVER a month) and everyone flakes out...hard not to take personally...i understand people have lives and get sick, etc. but it's heart breaking if i'm so passionate about these things and they don't happen. i know it's not all about ME ME ME...maybe that's another thing God is trying to instill in my life. i get it. i've decided from now on, i will announce something and if someone wants to go or come, it will happen, if not, it won't.

if the world fails you...Christ will not. it's really all i need to know. thank you Jesus for loving me, for being my Father. for being my SOURCE. for being my life. thank you for my FAMILY who rarely ceases to amaze or fail me. thank you for my friends, even though they irritate me at times (hey...family too, lol). thank you for being the Savior in my life. i love YOU.

soooooo ready...

i am really just SO ready to be doing what i love {and loving what i do}, which is in essence photography.  i know i have been saying this for a long, long time.  i am so close to getting my DSLR {can Christmas come ANY sooner, puuuhlease?}, that i can TASTE it!

do you know how expensive cameras are?  and i don't just want to rush and get ANY ol' camera.  i really really really really REEEEEEEEALLLLLY want a Canon.  and it cannot be just ANY ol' Canon.  i really really really really REEEEEEALLLLY want a Digital Single Lens Reflux {DSLR}...at LEAST a 10 megapixel, WITH a lens.  that's is absolutely the bottom line for amateur (the one i want is around $800).  i understand that it will be my ONLY Christmas gift also.  i don't even care.  i am really itching to get my little hands on it.  i don't think i have wanted anything more than this actually.  :)  {materialistic, i know}

at Haylee's soccer game today i saw at least 3 of these cameras and my heart was just {almost in a jealous way, until i checked myself} hurting.  ;)  i know i can be dramatic.  but i just want to kick off my career and i cannot even start to LEARN what i want to narrow it down to until i have this camera.  i mean, i pretty much know this after years of a point-and-shoot digital camera....this much is true about me:

1.)  i love taking photos of babies & children, outdoors

and since i've taken a photo class...

2.)  i love abstract photos such as a simple sign, a tree, a shadow, a brick wall...or any object from a different angle which might not {at first} make it seem like you are looking at WHAT you are looking at {i hope that makes sense}

i know one thing also...out here {or anywhere kids and families are involved really} i would be able to make a career based on child photography.  as long as i put my different flair into it.  i'm thinking of doing people in general...but at first maybe children since i'm pretty used to this seeing i do it on a daily basis with my own little spawn.  ;)  

i just have a passion and if i just let my mind wonder, it is ALL i think about.  ALL.  i couldn't imagine a life without photos or photography.  it would be a definite SAD world.  it is how people relate, how we connect, it is a moment in time, it is life.  it is everything.  i love it {hmm can you tell?}.  it's an absolute JOY speaking with others who own my same view on it.  they totally understand me.  i know a lot of people who just don't, and that's ok.  God made us all different.  :)

anyway...Christmas is when Tim promises i will get my camera.  if Christmas comes sooner, i will not dwell on the fact that i don't have ANYthing to open on Christmas day, instead i will be stuck with a lens to my eye, focusing on the precious moments of my family & friends living in the  moment.  a moment (or moments) in time i will have documented for them and ones they will be able to share for lifetimes to come...........

close, but no mexico :(

thank you for all praying for my missions trip to mexico, but it has been postponed until january.  my friend that was going with me got an ear infection and was not able to go.  so i'm bummed, but truthfully i'm feeling a little under the weather also.  so i decided to plan to go in january...after the holidays and all.

tomorrow i'll be going to Haylee's game at 11am and then we have things around the house to get done.  both Tim & Haylee are happy to have me home, so that's great. :)  i feel loved.  ;)  

i am sooooo excited, Tim bought my Halloween costume i have been wanting for a month now...i'm going to be Wonder Woman for Halloween!  we have never had an adult Halloween party and this year, since we have room for it, we are hosting an adult only Halloween costume party!!!  if you are in the area...you are cordially invited!  email me for details.  ha ha!  it will be Oct 18th.  Haylee will be staying the night with her Aunt Shirlene...she is stoked.  she is excited too for Halloween...she has had her costume planned out for months in advance {as always!} and wants to be a ROCK STAR.  ;)  i kid you not.  that was her request!  so i have a little outfit in mind...Momma's going to fix her up goooood.  hee hee.  she's going to be the cutest lil thing ever!  

anyway...so prayers please for my good buddy Christin and her ear infection.  also for me as i feel a sinus infection coming on.  thank you very much, hope everyone has a fabulous weekend.

my gut instinct

ok so i know a handful of you just anticipating on this blog entry, so here goes...

last night was my first night of "taste and see" women's Bible study at my church. first off let me say that this was a big deal for me. i have been going to this church for almost three years now and at my previous church (it was a very small church in comparison) i joined a very small group (maybe 5 people?) at someone's house. it actually got really personal and emotional and it was what i needed in the season of life i was in. but i did not know (and still don't know) what to expect from this study, seeing it's only the second one i've ever joined.

i think mostly i don't like being so vulnerable, as i was in my last small group. it was fine for what i was going through at that time, but now i'm in a much different phase in life and i guess it's the fear of the unknown with me. i'm not good with change at all. not in the least bit. so to enter this group of 200 ladies...not knowing one single person...all by myself...well let's just say i stepped way outside my comfort zone. :)

with that being said...here's how it went. i pulled into the church parking lot and there were SO many cars. ok, to give you an idea, my church is fairly large. to me, it's comfortably large because i am/was in the church choir, so i got to know a lot of people in the worship arts division and Tim and i used to have a ministry called the Newcomer's, so i got to know a lot of the head people in the church. but for me, one on one and introducing myself (by myself) within a group of people...eeek...it can be extremely intimidating!!! oh yes, i was going to give you an idea...well we have three services (Sat night, and two on Sun morning)...they said last night for the Tues night Bible study there were almost 200 ladies and on Wed morning there were 250 ladies. much different from my last church with only 5 different people in the small group. :)

this particular Bible study will start off in a large group and then break off into smaller, more intimate groups. i'm not sure exactly how many of us will be in one group, we will find that out next Tues. but i'm excited to see and meet the people i will be grouping with until the end of December! ;)

so i get there and there are about 10 pretty tables with yellow tablecloths, flowers, balloons, pretty PINK binders and our pretty {and girly!} "A Modern Girls Guide to Bible Study" book with candy and a smorgisborg of FOOD. i was a little overwhelmed. a lot of ladies were already seated and you were to check in at the registration counter, get your binder and name tag and pick any table you wanted to sit at. so i did it, i felt a little bit alone since i did not know ANYONE. so i sat at the first table i walked to and asked the four girls sitting there if it was taken...when they told me no, i sat there and looked around. :) then i decided to introduce myself to the table. how scary! lol! but i did it, and i felt good and after that awkward moment of silence it all went well.

this study is set up so CUTE, i cannot wait to see what's in store. i have homework to read the first chapter of the book. they announced in Dec they are having the author of the book come out and talk to us! how neat is that?!! i'm excited about it. i love to read and this book looks way cute. i'm very excited to see what is in store for me. so, albeit awkward and taking a huge step (for me)...i know i'm going to attain biblical knowledge that i don't already have, make new friends within my church and grow spiritually...i'm excited. :)

lil' this n' that

i don't have much to blog about tonight but i wanted to put a few words on here anyhow. so easy to journal my thoughts on here. ;) i've reflected on my day and realized that at times during the day i was not so nice. i sometimes feel like i wear my emotions out on my sleeve (and if you know me like that you are probably laughing...so stop it). i'm sorry if i was less than chirpy or gave attitude today.

i think sometimes i just try SO hard to please EVERYONE and that takes a lot of energy from me. i just need to be myself, i'm much happier that way. now that i got that off my chest, i feel a little better.

i am still excited that my new Bible group starts tomorrow night. a little nervous like the first day of work or a new job, but none the less i'm excited to see what is in store for me out of this. i am going to take words of advice and expect something for me out of this. :) yay!

did i also mention i am going to Mexico on Saturday? i am going with my church to help build a home for the less fortunate. i am SOOOOO excited and one of my sweetest friends is going with me! i will take a ton of pictures and share anything exciting that happens from this trip.

ok i better get going...i hope you all have a great night...xoxo

ohhhh YES i DID...

...keep in mind, it is football season. :) this afternoon one of my friends {Ann}, Haylee and i had a "girls' afternoon" as i called it and watched The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2. it was actually really great and i LOVED it! i thought the first one was good and cute, but the 2nd one was definitely better. very very very cute chic flick. i totally recommend it to all the chics in my life. ;)

my weekend went by rather fast actually! Haylee had a soccer game on Saturday and that was good. then Saturday night we dropped her off at my sister-in-law, Nicki's and she spent the night there with Lilly. she had a lot of fun as always with her cousins. Tim and i went to Maki Maki, a Japanese place and we had soooooo much sushi. now...here's the funny part...i do NOT like sushi. :) but...i DO like cooked or seared sushi. i had "volcano rolls" which was crab meat with rice wrapped in seaweed and that was wrapped in seared salmon...it was THE BOMB. i also had a shrimp tempura roll. which was basically fried shrimp in a California roll, which was also great. i also had another thing that i cannot remember but i remember i liked it and then Tim had a tuna and cream cheese roll and for some reason i was not feelin' that one. the texture or something, ew. we also had hot saki, which i like! it was great to get out and we were at an outdoor mall and on the weekend they have different bands. we heard this guy and he was singing more reggae-ish...Jason Mraz (which is one of Tim's fav singers) type music and he was great! we watched him for about 4 songs. kind of romantic because he was by a water structure, it was nice at any rate. :)

today we just hung out and Tim went to the Stadium to watch the Raiders (win!!!!) and Haylee and i saw that movie. then we went shopping for some fall decor...i just love the fall, it's my FAVORITE season. we have some things planned for this fall, i cannot wait.

my new Bible study starts on Tuesday! i am stoked. my friend wasn't able to join, so i'm a little sad/bummed about that but i know that something GOOD is going to come out of this. we also did something different in church on Saturday night. we all had to think of something, anything, that has been laying heavy on our hearts lately and write it out on an index card, pass it to the center of the church and the ushers took them up, shuffled them and then when you left church that night you grabbed one and this week we are supposed to have intercession for that person. it was crazy and cool and i loved it. i got a really good one, which i will not share with you on here, but i really love this idea!

ok well better get going now...have a great week. :)

Tag...you're it!

Tagged...by Cindy ;)

THE FIVE

10 years ago I:

1. graduated boot camp & on my way to life in the Air Force
2. living in Biloxi, MS
3. was still a teenager
4. was scared and anxious of what was to become of my life.
5. was single


5 things on today's "to do" list:


1. Take a shower
2. Buy oranges for today's game from Henry's
3. Go to Haylee's soccer game @ 1pm
4. Go to church tonight
5. Drop Haylee off @ my in-laws so Tim & I can go on our date!


5 snacks I enjoy:

1. fresh fruit
2. Pretzels
3. anything to do with peanut butter
4. cheese
5. Chocolate


5 things I would do if I were a millionaire:

1. Buy a house
2. Pay off the car
3. Invest
4. Kids college funds
5. Give to charities


5 places I have lived:

1. St. Charles, MO
2. Panama City, FL
3. Salt Lake City, UT
4. Abilene, TX
5. McGehee, AR


Five jobs I have had:

1. Babysitter (first job)
2. Administration in the Air Force (second job)
3. Office Manager @ Crate and Barrel (third job)
4. Sales & Marketing Assistant @ Coast IRB (fourth job)
5. Executive Assistant @ KSJG accounting firm (present job)


I tag...Whoever wants to and

1. Liz
2. Mindy
3. Jenni
4. Julie
5. Monique (if you aren't too busy with a new baby!!)

Rules: Each player answers the question themselves. At the end of the post the player then tags 5 people and posts their names, then goes to their blog and leaves them a comment letting them know that they've been tagged and asking them to read your blog. Let the person that tagged you know when you've answered the questions on your blog.

9 years ago today...

i still remember it like it was yesterday...9 years ago today i was hustling and bustling and getting ready for my WEDDING day! :) i was only 19 years old...Tim was 18 {yes...he's younger...}.

i can hardly believe it, 9 years later! time really does fly by, doesn't it?! this morning i received some white chocolate covered strawberries and after lunch i received these beautiful RED ROSES! isn't he the greatest???? i didn't even get him a card, lol! well, we did make plans for dinner tonight. we are bringing Haylee with us since it's on a school night and we didn't want her out late. she is so cute, she said "after our anniversary dinner can we walk the dog?". LOL! how sweet is that? :) i can't wait for tonight's dinner, i'm so happy to have the best husband ever. i love him dearly. he understands me {most of the time}, puts up with my craziness and is an awesome father to our child. he's a God fearing, very loving guy!

i will be sure to blog about tonight later. i hope you all are having a wonderful day! i know i am!! :) if my honey is reading this....happy 9 years. i love you and i cannot wait to spend the rest of my life with you. ;)

challenging?

so...here i go again. spilling my brain out to God only knows who {lol...mostly friends and family i'm guessing...}. i am here to air it out a little, after all i had a challenging {for lack of a better word} day. i'm not here to complain or degrade or whine. i'm just going to type and see what happens.

ok...you know i had a whole paragraph typed out here and came back to it after i talked to Tim and cooked and ate dinner and gave Haylee a shower and i realized that life is too short. too short to worry about what people say to me that doesn't matter. what matters is that i give my ALL and my BEST in ALL i do. :) it doesn't matter, or SHOULDN'T matter what MAN {or in this case, woman} say to me about myself. they don't know ME, they don't know my heart. i am stronger than that. i did have a good cry at work today. it felt good actually. someone said something hurtful and very untrue. but that's ok. you know what i am going to actually pray for that person and just have the utmost faith because my life is in God's hands.

that is how i've lived my whole life...things happen for a reason {good and bad things}. i'm not going to dwell on it, what's done is done and what has been said has been said. gosh...i don't know if it's that glass of wine or just the realization that there is SO much more to life than this. petty things. i want to live my life to the fullest and just not have these ill feelings toward anyone. it's just not my style.

i'm sorry to anyone reading this that came into contact with me because i know my attitude was not so pleasant. :) i am sorry...sometimes you just have "one of those days". i really do like my job and the people are usually so great...but you get 40 people together and you get 40 totally different personalities. not everyone is going to like me or like the way i do things. everyone has an opinion. it's crazy how we were made that way. but awesome at the same time.

i guess i will end by saying that i am a happy person and i just hope that people see that in me, i hope they see that i love God and that i live my life for Him...maybe sometimes not always as i should {human nature, right?}. i'm feeling really good tonight and Tim heard my sob story and my frustrations and my outcome and decided {with bum knee and all!} to run out and get me some Golden Spoon frozen yogurt. is he the MAN or what??? i have the best husband. really he is awesome and i love him with all my heart.

speaking of which....does anyone know what tomorrow is???? ;)

not by chance...

have you ever heard the song "Stronger" by Hillsong? well...we sing it a lot at our church services and today i had it stuck in my head ALL day. it was sort of random because it's not typically the type of song i have stuck in my head. usually i get catchy, most of the time not-so-good melodies i hear on the radio {not the Christian station might i add?}. but not today. it started {maybe too much info, oh well} in the shower. i ALWAYS sing in the shower. Tim is usually still asleep while i'm in there and i am SURE he has heard me, ha! but all the same, i love it and i'm not the greatest singer by any means, no matter how many years of choir i had. ;)

i sang the words all throughout the day "you are stronger, you are stronger, sin is broken, you have saved me. it is written, Christ has risen, Jesus you...are Lord of all...". i came home and was singing it to Haylee and Tim said...whoa, how weird...i had that song stuck in MY head ALL day today! :) by chance? i think not. he even downloaded it this afternoon to iTunes! wow i just find that very crazy in a GOOD way. did it give you chills too?

i don't believe in chance anyway. i trust that ALL things in life happen for a reason. i got an email from my friend today that said:

"God doesn't give you the people that you WANT. He gives you the people that you NEED. To help you, to hurt you, to leave you, to love you and to make you into the person you were meant to be."

i just believe in my heart there is a lot of truth to that. you may not have had the perfect childhood, the most supportive parents, the best friends...but they were placed into your life for reason. even if someone was placed in your life to hurt or leave you {as stated above}, good things could come from that. i think we have all experienced something in our lives that maybe wasn't fair or to our disadvantage but in the end it makes you STRONGER {hey...just like the song!}. the awesome thing IS, you can FORGIVE those who have trespassed against us and move on with your life. :) you can BE HAPPY. you don't have to live in constant anger and hurt and angst. we all have a choice.

i don't know why i'm rambling all of a sudden, it's like my fingers are just typing away and i'm pouring out my thoughts in my brain. that happens a lot on here i'm {not so} afraid. it's so much easier for me to write things out than to say them because i feel like it comes out all wrong. but when i'm in my niche, it's alright.

i'm just trying to say...maybe that song just wasn't put in our heads "by chance". sure, we might have heard it in Saturday night's church service, but maybe it was placed upon us to think it out, to analyze it and to act upon it. i felt like i was supposed to blog about it, apparently. ;)

oh yes, i also wanted to share one of my recent favorite Bible verses i just learned {and am supposed to memorize, per my pastor, lol!} this past weekend...i really like it a lot:

"All scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work." 2 Timothy 3:16-17

ChErRy PaRk...

today Haylee and I went to Cherry Park, which is just a nice big park behind our neighborhood. it's so pretty there, lots of trees and grass and area to run and play. there is also a neat looking bridge...which i love pictures of kids/people on bridges, it's so cool. so i asked Haylee to have a little photo shoot so i could practice my photography. i'm really working it with my Kodak Easy Share camera so that when i get a DSLR, i'll be more than ready!! hopefully it'll be my Christmas gift. ;)

anyway we had a lot of fun, we were out there for over an hour just playing outside. in California one of the biggest complaints (usually from people outside of California too, lol) is that you don't really have a yard. well...we do. but let me just say that even if we didn't, we wouldn't need one, there are SO many nature trails, basketball courts, tennis courts, community pools and practically a park on every corner! not to mention, hello....the beach. ;) trust me, we get enough outdoorness out here in our lovely state.

i took about 80 photos and did a pretty good job...i put about 30 of them on an album on facebook in case you are interested in seeing the whole album. i know i'm bad about putting them up here...sorry about that - it takes a lot of time to download them to a photo host and then copy/paste them on here. ;) so i just do facebook because it's easier.

we had a pretty good start to the morning too (i know i'm blogging backwards now, ha ha!). Haylee had her soccer pictures done at 8:15am this morning. it was too early to be up on a Sunday morning. thankfully we opted to go to church last night, which was a good call because we weren't done until after 9:00am and by that time we were tired and cranky. ;) but all in all i think her pictures are going to come out GREAT! some of the other moms had really GREAT DSLR camerasj {jealous...} so they were taking single pics of the girls which i thought was GREAT!

ok gotta go grill some burgers and dogs now...have a super fabulous week everyone. :)

del scorcho

i got a little fried today when i was at Haylee's soccer game! wouldn't ya say? it was FUN! see her blog for more details...in the meantime, will you please pass the aloe vera? ;)

i am super dooooooper excited because today i asked my really great and awesome friend Lisa if she will attend this women's Bible study i will be taking starting Sept 16th and she said YES! :) this is really great and i think will be very healthy for her as she is going through a few things in her life and she lives an hour and a half from work, so i told her every other week when she attends the Bible study with me, she can come over and spend the night! so twice a week we can have a Girls' Night IN! isn't that awesome?!! i'm stoked!

this is going to be my first all women's Bible study and i just hope and pray it is a great one for me. i am going through a few things in my life too {aren't we all?} and i just pray this is exactly what i am supposed to be doing. i have been in one other Bible study and it really ended up being something i needed in my life at the time, so hopefully this is as well.

if anyone else would like to go, and you live in the area, please let me know! it starts Sept 16th, every Tues night at 6:30 (until 8:30) and the cost is $40. email me if you're interested: hayleebug@gmail.com

love,
mel <3

don't let life pass you by!

so wow i never realized how much Tim actually did until now that he's hurt {see my below post}.  i call him Tigger because he's hopping all over the place these days.  :)  poor guy!  i am pretty much waiting on him literally hand and foot because it's painful for him to hop along on crutches. i don't mind, it makes me feel good to feel USEFUL you know?  

today was Haylee's first day back at TLC at her usual school.  it was weird going back for the first day.  when i dropped her off there was a little blonde haired, blue eyed girl who was being dropped off by her grandfather.  she stood at the door and whined "grandpa, i don't want to go in!"...she was obviously a newcomer (aka a Kindergartner).  and then it hit me...that's not going to be us this year!  no more new feelings of the unknown.  of course i do have thoughts of her going into the 1st grade...is she ready?  i mean, she's very smart and she can read and write and count to past 100 and can add and learning subtraction and...gosh but is she really ready?  i guess at this point i just have to have faith.  and mother's intuition.  i am sure if she were not totally ready, the teachers would have caught it.  ;)  it's just the worrier in me coming out.  i've been blessed with Haylee.  even on the first day of Kindergarten she RAN through those doors and did not even look back.  it was a hug and kiss for Momma and then in a split second she was gone.  it doesn't even feel like a year later and we're going through it again, only the 1st grade.  my does time ever fly.  she's already talking about next year in second grade and i just have to remind her to SLOW IT DOWN.  she told me yesterday "Momma, i cannot wait until i am ten, because when i am ten i bet i will be REALLY beautiful.  more beautiful than i am now".  lol!  she is one nutty kid, i mean it.  

anyway...enough bittersweet rambling.  ;)  just ridiculous how fast they grow!

today has been anything but relaxing!  i was up all night with a coughing child...Haylee has bad allergies like her Momma and Daddy, she's been up all night coughing up the nastiness in her chest.  poor kid.  after the third time i was up with her i finally gave her some meds and propped her until she was practically sitting up in her sleep.  i hope it does not get worse, if so we may be making a trip to her dr.  :(  then Tim was uncomfortable all night with that itchy leg brace.  he was flopping all over the place!  now i know how HE feels!  i am usually the flopper and he could stay in the same position all night and sleep (not me!)...but between the two i didn't get much sleep at all, before i knew it my alarm clock was going off.  

so i had A LOT of caffeine today.  the receptionist who was supposed to start today called in sick on her first day (figures).  so i had to sit up there and all of "my boys" as i call them (all of the accounting partners i assist) were IN (figures again) and i was just busy busy busy at work all day.  which makes the time go by fast!  then a small issue arose, but wasn't my fault (even though i was made to believe it was my fault...aw well, what am i going to do?).  Tim called to tell me he wasn't feeling well and he went home half the day.  

i picked up Haylee girl and then we stopped by the house to pick up Tim's Rx for a heavy dosage of Motrin, then we picked it up, went home, i cooked a NICE dinner!  Tim has been wanting me to try new recipes...plus i am really trying to cook more healthy meals so he bought me the Rachel Ray's 30 min meals cookbook.  i tried the italian mini-meat loaves and home made macaroni n' cheese.  it was THE BEST mac n' cheese i have EVER had!  i loved it, and the best thing in the world is so did Tim & Haylee!!!!!  they ate it right up.  :)  

after dinner i gave Haylee a shower and then we did our nightly routine...she plays beauty school with my hair (she loves doing hair) while i read her the Bible.  she was so cute and was asking questions about Noah and the Ark tonight.  she was so into it, i think her doing my hair while i read is a great idea because i will read it (it's the actual Bible in NIV) and then i put it in her terms so she understands and she asks me questions.  it's great!  we love it and it's working out really well for us.  i think it's great because it's making ME read the Bible myself as well.  it's a win/win situation.  

after that i put her to bed and cleaned the kitchen, took the dog out, fed the dog and got all of our clothes and Haylee's soccer stuff ready for tomorrow and my team mom stuff ready to pass out tomorrow at practice.  it's a lot of fun being Haylee's team mom.  it's neat to see how it's all ran and doing the fun stuff like hair bows and banners and putting the roster together...it's right up my alley man!  ;)  

tomorrow is soccer practice and team mom stuff...i'm also going to try to go on a walk with Haylee & Miley & i think for dinner is chicken chow mein!  i'm really trying to get this schedule thing down.  i really don't know how moms with more than one kid (and working full time mommies) do this!  i mean, i love it, don't get me wrong but wow lately i feel like super-mom or my FAVORITE superhero...WONDER WOMAN!  i remember when i was a kid i wanted to BE her.  hey...maybe i did become her.  who knew.  

a day full of labor :)

today was eventful to say the least!  it actually started off slow with Haylee sleeping in until 7am (she's usually an EARLY BIRD, yes, earlier than 7am!) and Tim and i slept in until 9am.  which was nice for us!  we never do that.  it's funny how we call that sleeping in...but it's true.  otherwise on the weekend we wake up between 7:30-8:00am.  i guess it's due to the weekdays waking up at 6am.

anyhoo...we woke up and slowly got ready for our day.  Tim wanted to go somewhere so he went grocery shopping after i made the list.  (he actually loves this...which i'm happy he does, because i hate it, lol!)  then off to my friend's house we went.  it was nice because i hadn't seen this friend for awhile, he's been in Hawaii and my other friend that he's dating (notice how i'm leaving names out, ha ha!) came and she lives an hour away...so it was going to be a GREAT day!  it was fun we all sat around, talked, drank a few beers and ate some chips, listened to Haylee play.  then we decided to get physical and play some volleyball, soccer and whiffle ball.  

everything was going fine and then someone said something about Tim being injured.  poor Tim.  he was playing a 2nd game of volley ball, doing well...but then his body went one way and his leg went another and he had a nasty fall.  he actually dislocated he knee cap and snapped it back into place (ewwww!!).  then he couldn't walk at all.  yikes!  so we left the party early and Haylee and i drove (well, i drove, lol) him to the ER.  oh yea...it's our trademark to only go to the ER during a holiday...don't you know?  ;)  some of you may recall a few years ago we spent Christmas night in the ER with Haylee went she busted her head open on a door hinge and got stitches.  well at least there wasn't any blood this time.  :)  thank goodness because i faint at the sight of blood!!

Haylee and i (and Tim in the xray room) sat in ER for almost 2 hours...ugh i hate the ER.  it's smelled like vomit and hand sanitizer.  Haylee and i took a few walks around the hospital, took some funny pics of us on my cell phone (we were laughing so hard!), watched the salt water fish in the huge fish tank, read some books and people watched.  do you know how hard it is to keep a 6 year old entertained in the ER?  ha ha!  not so much!  ;)  but thankfully Tim came hobbling out on crutches and a HUGE knee brace.  apparently when he dislocated and popped his knee back into place he bruised his knee cap in 2 different places.  ewwww!  it makes my knee sore just thinking about it.  so he is in a brace and on crutches for a week now.  it's going to be interesting seeing him drive...hopefully he will be ok!  it was a very eventful day.  :)  at least he's ok and nothing is torn or broken.  from now on he will have to wear a brace when he works out and has any physical activity with his knees.  poor guy!

anyway it was fine because we came home and i grilled burgers and tonight Prison Break and One Tree Hill are back on!  tomorrow Haylee heads back to TLC at her own school (for two more days until 1st grade starts!) and Tim and i go back to work (yeeeeee-freakin-haw).  this week will be a busy (and short, yay!) one.  we have soccer practice, her first soccer GAME on saturday and then soccer picture day on Sunday!  crazy!!

Happy Labor Day!