crazy kid fun

ok so i'm SUPER excited that tomorrow is HALLOWEEN! it is going to be SO MUCH fun. especially for Haylee, but i especially love dressing her up to go trick-or-treating. it has been so much FUN for ME because i like to get creative with her costume. in the past we have purchased costumes or my Mom made her costume (two different sizes on accident, which ended up being a good thing because she was a cat a couple of years!). but last year and this year i've sort of "made" her costume, or thrown things together to make her costume. it's a lot of fun! it's totally up MY alley.

i thought this would be fun. here are all of Haylee's previous Halloween costumes...some of them were pre-camera days and i used my camcorder so bare with me. ;)

Halloween 2002 (she was just 2 months old!) - sorry this is the best pic i could find...
she was a chili pepper and on the front it said "hot stuff"...hee hee

Halloween 2003 (14 months) - she was a butterfly...

Halloween 2004 - my Mom made this leopard kitty costume..cute huh?!

Halloween 2005 - Snow White...isn't she beautiful?

Halloween 2006 - another kitty cat. my Mom actually made this costume too when she made the one in '04 she thought she had the right size but that one (the one below) was huge back then, so one year i pulled it out and Haylee LOVED it. she loves animals...so we were both cats that year. ;)
Halloween 2007 - a prissy ballerina!

this year she will be a ROCKSTAR and i can't WAIT for you to see her! ok better get going...took me FOREVER to find some of these pics...Happy Halloween everyone!! xoxo

new horizons

some of my friends have mentioned that i'm becoming "Little Miss Domesticated" and after tonight i just had to laugh...first of all that is not a true statement. i am the farthest from loving being in the kitchen. but i do know this, when my family is lovin' what they are eatin' it makes me happy. and i just ADORE making cupcakes with my Haylee. for me, it's more of a family happiness that draws me to want to be in the kitchen. otherwise...forget it. ;) i just didn't inherit that bone. hee hee!

i did get this Rachel Ray cookbook, it's her classic 30 min meals...just what i need, easy, QUICK recipes for my fast paced (ha!) lifestyle. right?! i LOVE it! i try to make one new recipe a week (usually italian because, well it's my fav) and it's been working rather nicely. if you don't do well in the kitchen or don't really have the desire like i do to get too creative (in the kitchen that is) - i would definitely recommend it! YUM-O is RIGHT. i made Pasta with Pumpkin & Sweet Sausage tonight and it was A-M-A-Z-I-N-G. i'm all about an easy, delish meal. all about it!

i promised H we'd make cupcakes...if you haven't guessed by now that's our forte. we LOVE cupcakes in this household. they're fun and H loves to get messy and i love to see her express herself and feel like she is helping me big time by sloppin' some gooey icing and overloading with sugary sprinkles. nothin' like it! ;)

we love to make the "fun fetti" kind by Pillsbury because they are just yummy (or YUM-O as Rachel Ray would say). my momma-in-law bought us some cute cupcake sprinkles and little things a few weeks ago to make them with the girlies and they were so much fun. H is always up for a good cupcake! see how black her teeth are from the black sprinkles? too funny!

i guess i could get used to baking and making new recipes for dinners. it's not SO bad. :) the clean up part is never fun, but the whole process and the time i get to spend with my little precious is awesome. and the feeling i get knowing my hubby knows i tried hard and put a lot into my dinner makes me feel better too. it's great. maybe i've stumbled on some new horizons. who knows!

well i better go, Tim is wanting me to play guitar hero 4 right now...i've never played and we got the game on Sat. LOL. he's probably mastered the expert level, i hear him rockin' out upstairs! he wants me to jam out with him. so i just wanted to say hello {again}. i hope you have a blessed night. tomorrow night i have Bible study {i'm really excited because i've come across some verses that have helped me with some issues i'm struggling with right now, so i'm eager to hear what other girls have to say about them too!}. i will share more of my studies with you later this week. have a great night! xoxo

time flies!

time flies when you're busy busy busy! we had a great weekend...saturday Haylee had a game, we went to church, Haylee spent the night at her aunt's. Tim and i went to The Melting Pot for dinner. i had never been and i loved it! great experience. i love fondue and actually to be honest i never had cheese fondue before. and i've never cooked my own meat fondue style either. it was FUN. :) we went fondue crazy. so crazy that we couldn't eat dessert, so we got a card to come back just for dessert! how cool is that. ;)

seems like we've had a few date nights recently and Haylee's been having a few sleep overs. i miss her bunches when she is away over night. i feel like i don't get to see her that often as it is. but we all had fun. she got to see High School Musical 3 with her cousin on Sunday.

Tim bought the new Guitar Hero (On Tour, it comes with drums, a guitar and a mic, you can start a band!) on Saturday at midnight, lol. he's played it all weekend. i haven't even touched it, i am so scared i'm going to get addicted and not put it down! i get so easily distracted by video games, ha ha ha! i know soon we'll have our family & friends over to have a GH4 party. those are always fun.

i have been in an odd mood lately. i feel a little disconnected to the world lately. i'm not sure exactly why...i get this way around the holidays, a little seasonal depression (not really) i guess, i don't know just thinking of all of the upcoming holidays and how fast it all goes by. don't get me wrong, i LOVE Christmas and Thanksgiving but it goes by so fast. all that build up and zoom! it's gone! kind of sad ya know. LOL!

i took some soccer pics i will have to add to Haylee's blog later. tonight i'm making some yummy Rachel Ray dinner (out of her cookbook), Halloween cupcakes (with Haylee) and do some cleanin'. :) have a super great week!

excited!

i cannot believe it's been one full week already since our Halloween party! (the best party ever, lol!) it went by so fast. doesn't it seem like the year is going by so fast? anyone? before you know it Christmas will be here. :) i looooooove Christmas. i cannot wait!

tonight Haylee is spending the night with my sister-in-law, Nicole (more on that on H's blog). so Tim and i are going on a date. i love date nights with my husband. even after all this time we still seem to find interesting things to talk about and places to go and things to do. i think tonight we're going to dinner by ourselves, then i want to get frozen yogurt, after that we want to start Christmas shopping. i know that sounds like a corny date to some...and maybe you are thinking that's what old couples do (soooo not true!) but we love shopping together! especially Christmas shopping for the kids in our family. it's pretty fun actually. we've always done it together. we found a few items that Haylee wants at Target that we will probably get tonight. yay!!

too funny i'm already "over" Halloween, lol! i'm kind of bummed we didn't get to go to a Pumpkin Patch this year. i found a couple of them i wanted to go to, but it's been so hot that it wouldn't have been the same anyway. i cannot believe how HOT it's been here, in the upper 80's, low 90's! it's going to start cooling off by the end of next week (70's...). i am really starting to miss the change of seasons i guess. i mean, i love the nice weather year round, but when it's 90 in October...that's a little tough. ;) i want to start wearing sweaters and jeans...i'm tired of capris and tank tops, LOL!

i think i forgot to mention that i went to the dentist a few days ago...i have been procrastinating (for 2 years!) because i knew i had cavities and i just am reallllllly bad about the dentist. i'm not so bad with going to the dr. (well sometimes) but i really need to get better about this. i'm really going to start going every 6 mos like i am supposed to. i want to get Haylee on the right track for going to the dentist too. anyway...i knew i had cavities 2 yrs ago, but it got worse of course. i had 4 cavities on top (2 on the top right, 2 on top left) and so he got to fix 2 on the top left a few days ago and on Nov 10th i go back to fix the 2 on the top right. i also have 2 huge SILVER fillings on the very back bottom teeth that are expanding - the bottom left one has cracked (it's just what happens with fillings over 10 yrs old) - so eventually i am going to have to have that one crowned. ugh. not fun. Haylee goes in on Tues for a cleaning/check up. i've been taking her once a year, but i need to start the every 6 mos check up/cleaning. she's about to lose her 2 front teeth any day now, they're poking out. :)

ok well i better get off of here and get H ready for her soccer game. she only has 2 more left after this one! sad! it goes by too fast. but that means she will get to start her acting class soon. she has been interested in gymnastics/cheerleading recently too and i've been looking into that also but i think that runs the same time soccer does. ;) we'll see.

have a GREAT weekend everyone!!

my theory

so i have a new theory with the way i handle my day. sometimes it goes so completely 'by the book' (which is the book of melissa, which no one knows about but me), meaning it goes smoothly and organized and everything's grand. other days...well, not so much. sometimes you have the day and night SO planned out in your head and then one thing goes wrong and it just doesn't turn out as planned...and being the procrastinator i tend to be...well it doesn't make the day better.

SO - here's my new theory. because melissa (yes i am typing in the third person just so we're clear) has not been obeying her heart and God's plan for her life. on a daily basis i feel like a failure over SOMEthing. i just know this about me, when i get off the beaten path i start feeling really discouraged and it could be about anything! it could be a dinner i tried to prepare last night (and then tim having to run out to taco bell at 8pm because it turned out...hmmm....to be not so yummy...heh...yea...). it could be me not exercising that day when i know in my head i INTEND to...it could be not giving the stinky dog a bath, not spending enough time with tim or haylee, but whatever it is, i know i'm not doing what i'm supposed to be doing and it gets bothersome. so much that at night i'm not sleeping right. i call it...the Holy Spirit.

the Holy Spirit is a funny thing, i view it more as a self-conscience. when you are a Christian and you're getting outta whack, it'll let ya know. for sure. :) you can't tell me it doesn't. well not only does the HS (Holy Spirit) point out the "bad" things, it highlights and makes you feel awesome about the "good". so anyway...i was feeling the HS very strongly coming over me these past few weeks. and especially on Monday when something i said upset me and others and i didn't mean it to come out that way and i was beating myself up over it for a few days, but by Wednesday (yesterday) i just gave it to God. He'll deal with it. i apologized, i prayed, i will deal with the reprocutions, but i am not going to dwell on one thing like that in my life. one mistake that i humanly made. i gave it to God.

ever since i have felt (and with this Bible study i am in i've been feeling this way for awhile...) that i just need to get up and FIRST thing in the morning give some time to God. pray. read my Bible. do my Bible study. journal. whatever God leads me to do, do it. STOP the procrastinating because it's leading me no where. i figure that i'll get closer to God, i will stop messing up so much in life, if i am seeking Him in everything i say and do...how in the world can i go wrong? riddle me that. i can't! i know, i will still say dumb things and do dumb things, but not if i am honestly seeking His grace. ALSO...my theory is (sorry it took me so long...just jottin' down thoughts!) - - WHEN i seek Him in the early hours of the morning...HE will supply my time for other things i want & need to do throughout my day.

it's kind of like tithing. you never think you have enough money to give until you just take that leap of faith and give to God and He gives you back ten-fold. it's true. don't believe me? try it! if you give God your TIME first, He will reward you with more time. i do not know HOW it happens, but it happened to me this morning. i prayed about it...i am NOT one for rising early. i barely roll outta bed at 6:30am and that is because i have a child that has to get ready for school and i have to be in to work by 8am. i NEED at least 8 hours of sleep at night in order to function. ask tim! so this morning i thought i would try it out simply by waking up at 6am. grabbed by Bible study stuff and dug in for about 35 mins. i still had to iron my clothes, H's clothes (yes, i iron...must be the military in me), take the dog out (and she's been so slow lately finding that sweet spot to pee!), shower and make sure we have lunches and breakfasts and remember things she needs to school, etc. ;) i have it down to an art really. we got out the door by 7:36am and i somehow made it to work 10 mins early! it's the oddest thing. not really...it's a God thing.

i am 100% confident that i will now how time to work out, cook full meals, help H with her homework and hang out with family now that i am putting God first. it makes me FEEL good too. i hope that makes sense to you because it's crystal clear to me.

something fun

...make sure you read my post below this one too for a {big} update. jenni wanted me to do this cool survey thing...she must know how much i like them. ;) i really do! thanks jenni. love you too girlie.

44 ODD things about you!

1. Do you like blue cheese? on buffalo wings, yum!
2. Have you ever smoked? yes i have. not anymore, ew.
3. Do you own a gun? no, but i wouldn't mind owning one.
4. What flavor kool-aid was your favorite? grape
5. Do you get nervous about doctor appointments? yes

6. What do you think of hot dogs? they're good at baseball games!
7. Favorite Christmas movie? The Santa Claus, Love Actually
8. What do you prefer to drink in the morning? coffee or hot tea
9. Can you do push ups? if i try really hard, yes. :)
10. What's your favorite piece of jewelry? besides my wedding ring, i love bracelets
11. Favorite hobby? blogging, crocheting, photography
12. Do you have A.D.D.? self diagnosed...maybe.
13. What's one trait you hate about yourself? i speak before i think
14. Middle name? Marie...(mine too Jenni!)

15. Name 3 thoughts at this exact moment? i'm tired...i finally blogged...look at me multi-tasking (filling out these questions and watching Grey's Anatomy, lol)
16. Name 3 drinks you regularly drink? coffee, water & vitamin water/gatorade

17. Current worry? purchasing a house soon
18. Current hate right now? my flaws
19. Favorite place to be? with my hubby & baby girl...anywhere

20. How did you bring in the new year? watched movies with family
21. Where would you like to go? hawaii...england...germany...anywhere
22. Name three people who will complete this? no one probably.
23. Do you own slippers? yes
24. What shirt are you wearing? aqua Hanes her way tank top
25. Do you like sleeping on satin sheets? no

26. Can you whistle? yes
27. Favorite color? aqua marine blue & pink

28. Would you be a pirate? sure
29. What songs do you sing in the shower? anything uplifting
30. Favorite girls name? Haylee Gabrielle
31. Favorite boys name? Aiden, Lucas
32. What's in your pocket right now? nothing
33. Last thing that made you laugh? something on tv
34. What vehicle do you drive? Nissan Sentra

35. Worst injury you've ever had? i've been very blessed so far in life, no broken bones or anything like that.
36. Do you love where you live? yes
37. How many TV's do you have in your house? 3
38. Who is your loudest friend? probably me...lol.
39. Do you have any pets? yes, Miley the mini-schnauzer
40. Does someone have a crush on you? my hubba does :)
41. Your favorite book? the shack...the Bible
42. Do you collect anything? not really anymore
43. Favorite Sports team? raiders, bears, usc trojans, angels

44. What song do you want played at your funeral? girls just wanna have fun :)

lots to say

hi there. thought i'd finally blog. there's just been a lot going on lately and Haylee was sick for a few days and this weekend something in the air is really throwing my body off guard - my left eye has just been tearing and blood shot along with a runny nose. i know it's my allergies because it always happens with the weather changing and boy has our weather been off! last week it was upper 60's/low 70's for a high and this week it's back in the upper 80's again. not used to handling that much of a drastic change in temp.

anyway - let's start with Friday. Friday our friend Eric from Sacramento (Tim, Eric & i go way back to our beginning years in the Air Force, we've been friends for years) flew in to visit us. i made some carbonara and we ate and talked. it was great. Saturday was Haylee's soccer game and she did AMAZINGLY well! she scored her first GOAL of the season! we were beginning to think she wouldn't score this year because there are a couple of "super stars" and Haylee is just very passive and would rather help set up a goal for her team mates, but she did (it didn't count toward the game because she stepped one foot across the line in front of the goal...but it counted to us!! she got her Golden Spoon mini too! yay Haylee!). i was happy she did it and Eric got to see it and Tim was just super excited. :) so proud of our girl!!

Saturday we did a lot of errands and dropped Haylee off with Aunt Shirlene to spend the night. we had our AWESOME Halloween party on Sat night. SO many people came and i was a bit surprised to see everyone i invited came (pretty much anyway). we had about 25 people there! everyone was dressed up and it was HILARIOUS. too many funny things happened that night. some things happened i wish i could take back, but all in all the party went well. i was Wonder Woman and Tim was the Burger King. our friend Eric was Jackie Moon from the movie Semi-Pro, he really made the night with his slick dance moves and hilarious "Love me sexy" song playing over and over and over again. it was too much, he kept me laughing (and everyone else i think) the whole night!

the party ended around 2 AM (yikes!) and the next day i woke everyone up around 7:30 AM to get ready for church. church was awesome, i always need that kind of encouragement in my life. after church we decided on a whim to go to Disneyland because Eric had not been in 16 yrs, and we just thought that was crazy! :) i don't know anyone who lives in California who hasn't gone to Disneyland in the past 16 yrs, lol. so anyway it was fun (although i was feeling massively sick due to my watery eye & nose & lack of SLEEP). Haylee rode Splash Mountain for the 1st time and squealed LAUGHING the whole way down! that kid, she LOVES roller coasters, just like her Daddy! i was laughing due to how excited she got. so cute!

Haylee had tons of fun - she hasn't been to Disney since last summer when she went with the summer youth group she belonged to. i went with my company a few months ago and Tim hasn't been in (i want to say...) a year! :) it was a blast! not too busy either. sweet! we were all sooooo tired by the time we got home. i crashed around 9:30 PM on Sunday night, ha!

Monday (yesterday) was horrible. i just had one of those TERRIBLE days. ever had one? they stink! i woke up late first of all & i couldn't flat iron my hair, so it was nasty and wavy. lol. that was the least of my worries come to find out. got to work and the phones were out, so i had to use my cell phone (which i did not happen to charge the previous night, so had to work off of 2 bars...). then the whole server was wacky & of course i had tons of work to do! errr! then something happened that really upset me - something i said to someone...rather not blog it all out but anyway i just felt terrible the rest of the day for something i said to someone that really upset them. still upset over it, but i'm letting God take it off my hands, i've done and said all that i can humanly possibly say & do. time will tell what happens and i'm fine with that.

it was not much better when i got home because my sister texted me and said that while they were gone someone left their gate open and their two beagle doggies (who ARE their CHILDREN since they don't currently have kids) got loose. an hour later she texted me and said Molly got hit by a car and died. i cried. oh my gosh how horrible. i know my sister is truly very upset, so i just ask that you pray for her. poor Molly girl, she was Liz's baby girl. i feel her hurt and it's sad when your animal dies...especially since those are her babies. thankfully, Max (the boy) was found and he's healthy/ok. liz, if you are reading i am praying for you tonight. i told Haylee and she was sad, but she was so happy to hear Max is ok. she prayed that Molly went to Heaven and that Aunt Liz's heart is ok and doesn't hurt. my precious little girl. she loves you and misses you guys as much as i do. i love you sister.

the only good thing that happened yesterday was Tim and i got to have a long talk and i loved it. he can always make me feel better, even if i don't want to talk about things. :) i love him!

today was MUCH better, i've been praying about things...giving things to God...letting go of my emotions and taking steps into the right direction. what HE wants for my life. i AM human and freakin' everyday i say or do something WRONG. but i find comfort in knowing that HE still loves me, HE still listens to me and HE will always be here for me, no matter what. He has an ultimate plan in my life and slowly, everyday, He points out to me what i should (or should NOT) be doing. like that song "He's still working on me, to make me what i ought to be...it took Him just a week to make the moon and the stars, the sun and the Earth and Jupiter and Mars. how loving and patient HE must be...He's still working on me...".

tonight Tim had a dinner to attend to so Haylee and i came home and helped Haylee with her home work (she gets a lot!), then we carved a pumpkin and she painted a pumpkin and we just hung out, it was JUST what i needed. even though i missed my Bible study, i believe God put this little angel in my life for a reason and everyday i see those reasons unfold. i am biased, but she is pretty amazing. i love her with all my heart.

there's my update...i promise it won't be this long next time but to be fair, i am making up for lost blog time. ;) have a blessed week.

still breathin'...

...i've been getting emails because i'm not blogging enough. ;) we had company this past weekend along with a soccer game and a Halloween party, lol! so i've just been busy but i have pictures and some updates and some good and bad news. Tim is out tonight so Haylee and i will be home - i don't know if i'll have the laptop (probably not if Tim took it to work w/him today) so i will try my BEST to update when Tim gets home or tomorrow first thing!! so much to say...not enough time. i promise to catch up BOTH blogs.

love,
mel
ps. thanks for your concern...means so much to me!

soooooooooooo

busy. with Haylee being sick on Mon and then she had the nurse call my work on Tues so we had to go pick her up from school because she had a tummy ache. anyway, she is fine and needless to say i am thinking it was just a 24 hr flu bug or something...kind of weird nothing more than a slight fever and tummy ache. thankfully it was nothing more! praying she's healthy all weekend because we have A LOT going on.

i don't know how often i will be online if at all actually. tonight i'm going home, cleaning (sweep, mop and last minute dusting and laundry)...helping Haylee study for her spelling, math and reading tests tomorrow (she fell behind, so hopefully she will still do well on those)...and Tim is doing the grocery shopping for the party food and regular grocery shopping for us. dinner will have to be something simple i am thinking! ;)

tomorrow our friend Eric flies in from Sacramento and he's staying at our place until Mon! yay! i'm super excited, he is hilarious and we'll all have a lot of fun together. Sat is soccer game, dropping Haylee off at our Aunt's for the night and then our big Halloween partaaay. :) we have about 25 people that are going to attend! it's a dress up costume party and i'm going to be wonder woman and Tim will be that (creepy) Burger King guy. it will be awesome!!

just wanted to let you all know that Haylee is feeling better and i'll be a busy girl this weekend...pictures will be posted later for sure, so keep on the lookout! happy weekend everyone. :)

2 words...

2 words NO MORE NO LESS can be used...

1. Where is your cell phone? ............my purse

2. Your significant other?.................right here

3. Your hair? .............................. messy brown

4. Your mother?............................far away

5. Your father?.....................................long, lost

6. Your favorite thing?...........................wonder woman

7. Your dream last night?....................... running, flying

8. Your favorite drink? ............................ lemon water

9. Your dream/goal?................................ taking photos

10. The room you're in?......................... living room

11. Your ex?.................................... long gone

12. Your fear?..............................slimey snakes

13. Where do you want to be in 6 years?...........taking photos :)

14. Where were you last night?................ at home

15. What you're not?.............................liar, liberal (lol?)

16. Muffin?.......................................... oh yummmm

17. One of your wish list items?........Canon DSLR

18. Where you were born?.................St. Charles, MO

19. The last thing you did?.......................Bible study

20. What are you wearing?................... jeans, shirt

21. Your TV?......................................... big Vizio

22. Your pets?.....................................dumb dog
23. Your computer? ............................. Mac laptop
24. Your life?...................................... crazy busy
25. Your mood?..............................happily breezy
26. Missing someone?..................yes, definitely
27. Your car?......................................Nissan Sentra
28. Something you're not wearing?.................shoes, hat
29. Favorite Store?..............................Target, Tilly's
30. Your summer?..............................fast, gone
31. Like someone?............................ LOVE Tim
32. Your favorite color?........................ aquamarine blue
33. Last time you laughed?.................. earlier tonight

the best cookies *EVER*

ok so since i was confined to the house all day {i don't know how i was EVER a stay-at-home mom now that i've been in this house ALL day!}...i decided to make my fall/winter cookies because people at work have been requesting i make them.

i promise you - if you love peanut butter and snickers candy bars as much as i do...you are going to be in HEAVEN with these cookies! i am going to share the intense recipe with you so that you can pass on the *love* to your friends & family! ;)

ok here it is...you ready? first you will need to make a grocery trip {or a Target trip in the grocery aisle as i always do...hee hee}. for these cookies i wouldn't recommend any other peanut butter cookie recipe {even home made, i've tried them like that and they do not taste the same for some reason!} - OTHER than the Betty Crocker peanut butter cookie mix that comes in the package. For those VISUAL people...here is what the package looks like:
you are also going to want to buy either a bag of Snickers MINI's or if the store doesn't have that, you can just get the bag of Snickers FUN size and cut them in half. :) the ONLY thing you need to make the cookies is 1 tbsp of water, 3 tbsp of oil & 1 egg, just so you know.

i always make the cookie mix according to the package and make sure you mix it good so there are no clumps of mix...that's a good tip. ;) then you are going to take some mix in your hand (yes, you will get messy...) and roll it into a ball, flatten it out, take the Snicker MINI (or the cut in half FUN size Snicker bar) and place it in the smack middle of the flatten cookie mix. then you are going to fold up the sides and on top until there is no Snickers bar showing. i fill up a cookie tray of about 16 cookies, bake according to package (375 at 8 and a half minutes is what i always do, you want them to still look SOFT and gooey when they come out of the oven). i always use the shortest time and add 30 more seconds...come to think of it, i don't know why, but they ALWAYS come out soooooo perfect that i dare not mess with something that's not "broken". Ha ha!

make sure you put the cookies on a cooling rack once they've cooled down on the baking sheet for about 3 mins. when you bite into one for the first time you may think you have died and gone to Heaven. seriously. i've had 3 already today. i baked a little over 4 dozen today! i am taking almost 2 dozen to work tomorrow {if Haylee is better by then!} and i'm sure within 2 hours my cookies will be devoured. :) i think you ought to try 'em. let me know what you think...

spoke too soon!

sooooooooo...Haylee has a fever again this morning. :( she woke up and had that look on her face like she wanted to cry. said her tummy and back and head hurt. so i took her temp and 2 times (i take it multiple times to get an average, lol) it was 103. but then it was about 102.5. pretty high. so i gave her Motrin and an hour later she is bouncin' around her bedroom. i just took it a few mins ago and it's about 100 degrees. she also just had a bad nose bleed. poor girl, allergies and the flu (i'm guessing the flu).

the wind is HORRIBLE today, shaking the whole house. it is pretty freaky. there are fires in Los Angeles (an hour away) too. what in the world is going on today?!

anyway i called in to stay at home with Haylee today since she cannot go to school with a fever. she seems to be feeling fine, except for the fever, which is strange. maybe it's just some infection she is fighting internally. i asked her this morning if anyone else in her class has been sick and she said that Victor in her class (the boy who sits directly in front of her - their desks are face to face too) has had a fever and has not been to school and another little boy threw up in class last week. well, it doesn't surprise me that she is ill now. hopefully it goes away by tomorrow as this week is BUSY at work! not a good week to get sick.

after i blog this i have all intentions of getting things done today! here's my list...we will see how much i can get done today while Haylee is resting. :)

- - finish off the 3 loads of laundry i didn't get to do yesterday
- - deep clean the kitchen (clean out pantry & fridge & cabinets)
- - catch up on my Bible study (i think i'm 2-3 days behind!)
- - bake my peanut butter snicker cookies
- - send off the care package i made for my Papaw with cancer
- - dust, sweep & mop the downstairs

ok i think that's about it! i better get off of here if i am going to get these things done today.

thanks for your well wishes prayers for my little sickling!
love,
melissa

halloween bows

for those of you who have known me awhile, you know that i used to make most of Haylee's bows. Haylee was born and an hour later she had a pink bow "glued" to her head. for those of you who are interested on the "gluing", please let me know. ;) there is a secret ingredient, kind of funny to put on my blog, LOL! those of you who know ARE laughing...hee hee!

anyway...she used to wear bows ALL of the time until about last year. she still loves wearing bows but sometimes people make fun of me {although Haylee would wear a bow everyday if i let her!}, they kid around saying she is going to be graduating high school with bows in her hair. :P now that's just silly, ha! but i don't see the harm in that...just kidding!

on occasion i do make bows for Haylee if there is a special outfit i have for her or if she's getting her portrait taken. :) i think she still looks adorable in bows and i probably will until she's fully grown. {well, maybe not...ha!}

this morning i picked up Haylee from my mom-in-law Susie and she bought Haylee and Lilly {my niece} a cute Halloween shirt from Target. Haylee's is orange with a sequined pumpkin. last week Tim and i got her a black one with a candy corn heart on it so now she has two, yay! Susie gave me some ribbon to make each of the girls a Halloween bow. so tonight, i did. it was fun and i haven't made bows since last Christmas when i did some for Haylee's Christmas dress. i think i did a pretty good job...see the pic above? one is for Haylee and one for Lilly. i'm excited. Haylee LOVES her bow and is excited to wear it with her matching Halloween shirt.

if you read H's blog you know that tonight she had a fever, but with some Motrin & Tylenol she broke it and it has been good ever since. i am not sure what it was and hoping it STAYS AWAY. please pray for her. thank you! :)

go USC!

today Tim and i went to the USC vs. ASU football game! it was his birthday present from me and Haylee. Haylee is staying the night at her Grammie and Papa's house tonight with her cousin Lilly. :)

the game was GREAT, i had never been to the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum or the University of Southern California campus and it was wicked AWESOME!! i loved it and took over 150 pictures!! 55 of them are on my facebook if you want to go take a look. ;) we had a BLAST! the Trojans won 28 to 0! what a GREAT day.

after the game we headed home and showered and got all cleaned up. then we went to Wahoo's for dinner. after that we drove around from one beach city to another and just rolled the windows down and breathed it all in. it was wonderful. it was 50 degrees outside! after we drove around for over an hour we decided to go home...been a long day since we had to wake up at 6am to drop Haylee off at the 'rents and then head up to LA (which is an hour away). so now i'm blogging and adding pictures to facebook...i'm pooped!

tomorrow we will pick up Haylee and then go home and CLEAN CLEAN CLEAN. tomorrow is clean up the house day all day. :) and laundry. yipeee {sense the sarcasm?}. i will actually be happy though because i just love a clean house. hope everyone's having a super great weekend!

DeMers Look-alike Meter

MyHeritage: Family trees - Genealogy - Celebrities - Collage - Morph

smoke

uh oh...not again! well San Diego is on fire again {{{sigh}}}. it's pretty smokey out here. i hope it doesn't spread or someone gets a wild hair and starts fires by our place again. that was scary last year! when you walk outside it smells like a big cigarette though, yuck!

the winds have been at a real high too, which really just makes it worse, but not uncommon for this time of the year actually. pray for all of the fire fighters and we know one personally...my sister in law Kathy's brother in law (follow that?) Jay.

on a lighter note last night was awesome! Haylee and i finished Tim's bday cupcakes (pics all on facebook, but i will add some later today to the blog too), i made a NICE dinner, we ate and sang and ate and took pictures. Tim went out and bought some USC gear for us to wear on Sat. :) yay! Haylee will be spending the night with his parents on Sat, so it'll be a nice little break for us...not that Haylee is a handful or anything. ;) well...it's nice for her to get away too.

have a great week, i'm so glad friday is almost here!!!!!!! been a long week at work! ;)

happy birthday honey

happy 28th birthday to my honey - tim!

he's finally my age now, for a month or so anyway...hee hee! i love you hon'! i bought him tickets to go to the USC vs. Arizona college football game this Saturday, Oct 11th. he was so excited, i knew he has been wanting to see a live game {so have i!}. so this Saturday we will be going to that. yay!!

tonight Haylee and i are making a yummy italian dish and then frosting our Raider color cupcakes and having a little family birthday party for the birthday boy. ;)

stumbling blocks

i don't know if it is that i am moody or that people have been irritating me more than usual.  by the way this may come off as a little vent-ish.  ;)  forewarning, hee hee!  anyway, i just get irritated lately by all of the micro-managing and the foul attitudes that go around (work) lately.  i consider myself a pretty well rounded (not literally), HAPPY person.  i come in to work usually with a great attitude (unless of course it's been a bad morning, hello i'm only human, LOL).  i am very respectful of others, i am kind, i am polite, i have good manners (momma taught me well in that area!) and i try to be as perky as possible being i deal with people day in and day out.  BUT...there comes a time when i break.  i think maybe i get too sensitive to people's comments and snide remarks.  if you are reading this and work with me, it is OBVIOUSLY not you.  i won't name any names because i think we all have an idea who these people are and how they can be.  i think even if you don't work with me, you have worked with these "brand" of people.  

yes, they are a very special "brand".  nothing is ever right, they are they ONLY ones who can do ANYthing right and you, my little hair-brained admin girl, you are below me.  :)  i honestly try HARD not to let it bother me, because it's inevitably the same people who say dumb comments over and over again and the same people who feel they need to micro-manage me because i may stumble (and rightly so, if someone is standing there every five seconds asking you if you've done something for them when they told you it isn't a rush, but APPARENTLY it is).  it ONLY bothers me when i feel degraded.  and i have a few times TODAY.  i have a lot this week.  

i'm not sure why exactly except i feel sometimes people have this "mightier than thou" attitude and that is one personality/characteristic i do NOT like.  i understand that i do not make as much money as a manager or a partner (duh).  i understand that i don't even have my degree (but i can guarantee i know more about certain things in which you do not!).  but i also understand that i am a person, a human and i don't deserve to be treated the way i do A LOT of times.  i am not trying to victimize myself, but i just wish others would see how they treat people.  i pray for them EACH time they do or say something to me that strikes me wrong.  :)  i do!  it's funny, because then i feel SO much better!

i guess i just needed to vent that out a little.  i'm sure a lot of others go through the same thing, in fact i know some others at my work that do also.  i am sure those people who have "wronged" me in some way have also had bad days...maybe their life isn't everything they imagined.  maybe the economy is really affecting their lifestyle.  i don't know, but sometimes i just wish they would think before acting.  you know?  ;)

to get my mind off of things bothering me (things i dwell on when i should just let go and let GOD handle!) -- Haylee and i made cupcakes tonight for Tim's birthday tomorrow!  yay!  i can't WAIT to give him his present...it came in the mail today and i hope he will be happy about it.  :)  i will let you know.  

we had SO much fun, Haylee and i!  i put pictures on my facebook too if you want to see.  ok Tim just got home and the pizza is done, so got to go.  thanks for listening.  

busy week...

i have a feeling this week is going to FLY...which is pretty awesome for me.  :)  so i just wanted to blog a little what's been up...on Wednesday (i have a feeling i might have said Tuesday to some of you and maybe even blogged it, who knows, LOL) is Tim's 28th birthday.  yes, we will be the SAME AGE for approximately 1 month and 12 days.  ;)  

i'm going to sadly admit something on here...i guess it's like a confession, but i feel like i have so much going on that i need to.  i just decided a minute ago that i am going to forgo my Bible study tomorrow night.  :(  i'm sad but Haylee and i are going to do something fun together!  we are going to make Daddy some RAIDER cupcakes for his birthday (don't worry, it's not a surprise and Tim doesn't really read my blog anyway, ha ha!).  she is SOOOO excited about this.  if you know our tradition it is that we make each other a birthday cake each year...well i make Haylee one (and she helps) and Haylee and i make Tim's.  ;)  

did you know they have black food dye SPRAY?  like food spray paint!  it's freakin' awesome.  i hope it's not too messy...i will take pics of us doing this cooking event together, hee hee.  it will be fun.  i will be sad to miss my Bible study but it's kind of a "ditching" week altogether because on Wednesday we are going to also forgo soccer practice since it's Tim's bday and on Saturday Haylee is going to miss her game.  because...well let's just say i bought Tim something for his bday and of COURSE by now he's already been guessing what it is, but we'll see...i have a really hard time not giving details and keeping a secret.  i wish i could, but it's HARD!  

anyway...so ok i wanted to do something on my blog like keeping a track record {lame i know} but i feel accountable when i blog it.  ;)  here are some things i would like to improve in my daily life:

1.  doing my Bible study once a day instead of a couple of days at a time/reading my Bible

- right now i've been jamming it in in a couple days at a time and that's just NOT what it is intended for!  i HAVE to get better at this.  

2.  working out/exercising 

- so i've started stair climbing at work with one of my friends there, today was our first day and boy am i out of SHAPE!  i really want to start waking up at 6am and doing pilates too...i even bought some new PILATES work out capris today...i want to start tomorrow, so please pray i can stick with this!

and some of the things i HAVE been doing lately - i have gotten a pretty much daily routine down for when we get home in the evening...want to see?  :)  i like writing it down...it feels like a lot sometimes and Tim wonders why i'm in bed by 10:30pm!

Mondays & Thursdays

5:30-5:45pm - pick up Haylee from TLC

6:00pm - start Haylee with her homework (she has a lot in the 1st grade)

--cook dinner while Haylee does her homework

7:00-8:00pm - eat, clean kitchen, Haylee shower

8:00pm - put Haylee to bed

anytime after that I am doing laundry and getting clothes ready for the next day

Tuesdays

5:30-5:45pm - pick up Haylee from TLC

6:00pm - make a simple dinner for Haylee (Tim fends for himself, lol)

--Haylee eats & I start her on her homework, Tim takes over

6:15pm - leave for my Bible study (starts at 6:30pm)

6:30-9:00pm - my Bible study

9:00pm - come home, clean up whatever needs cleaning, get clothes and Haylee's soccer stuff gathered for the following day

Wednesdays

5:30pm - meet Tim at soccer practice, Tim leaves & i take over parental guidance ;)

6:15pm - soccer practice over, go home

6:30-7:00pm - cook dinner (usually something simple and easy)

-- Haylee does homework while i am cooking

7:30pm - eat dinner, clean up, Haylee shower

8:00pm - Haylee bedtime

so i guess why i am writing this out IS, i would like to find a time to squeeze in Bible study and exercising.  Bible study i like doing before bed because i can find a QUIET place in the house while Tim is doing school work or watching football and Haylee is asleep.  :)  and i guess exercising, well the morning is the best and the night is just not the best time for me on that.  

i guess i don't do a whole lot compared to other people...but all this and a full time job, well i just get so tired (could be the lack of working out too!).  :)  thanks for hearing me blog about time...ha ha.  i have to go do my Bible study and clean the kitchen - we averted away from the schedule and went to Chick's sporting goods tonight.  :P

stuff

in case you didn't know, i have a blog for my daughter, Haylee also and i am getting ALOT better at updating it lately: http://www.tmhdemers.blogspot.com/ check it out and leave us a comment on there. :)

today is church, cleaning, church bbq at 3pm - our church bbq's are AWESOME with more than just bbq and a ton of things (rides, games, face painting) for the kids to do. it's great! i will try to take some pictures and put them on fb and maybe Haylee's blog.

this weekend has flown by already! next week (Tues) is Tim's 28th birthday. :) i am trying to surprise him with a gift but i keep opening my mouth, so hopefully i can keep the main IDEA a SECRET until Tues! i have a BIG mouth and it's hard for me to keep a surprise. i just get SO excited like a little puppy!

have a great rest of your weekend!!

the afflicted

ah, i love my Bible study! it's great spending some time in the word lately. i don't know if you've ever seen me type that before, but hey what can i say...i'm really receiving a blessing lately and i've been having a new outlook on things lately.

last night i was reading Luke 4:14-21 and at first i had the attitude of "well i'll just read through it, get my study done for the night...check my little box saying it's been done". so my heart wasn't really in it and well maybe my heart WAS in it, but my MIND was not. just being honest. so i read the part (verse 18 to be exact):

"the Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's Savior."

now...at first i stopped there and thought what i've always thought when i read ANYTHING about the prisoners, the blind, the oppressed...i took it literally like Jesus was helping the prisoners (in actual prison), the blind (who cannot see physically) and the oppressed (people who have been abused somehow in life). and then it hit me...wait a second...he is talking about prisoners such as prisoners of thoughts about not knowing Christ or maybe prisoners of a relationship they are in and they know it's not right but it's keeping them from Christ somehow...they are mental prisoners. not physically bound in chains, but prisoners all the same!

as for the blind...he's talking about people who do not SEE Him for WHO HE is! at this point i was journaling in my study guide and filled up half a page of my thoughts...soooo happy to actually discover something out of these verses...maybe it's clear to others but sometimes i take the Bible SO literally...well actually i take a lot of things literally, it's an ongoing joke with friends and family...ha ha!

the oppressed...that's easy...people HURT by other people who need HEALING. (there was a time in my life i felt oppressed, but God swooped me up and i've never been the same...i even take huge leaps of faith i never knew i could do...he sets my heart FREE!) oppressed could even mean people hurt by other people possibly in the church. it could mean many things but for me to open my mind up to what exactly God was talking about in these verses...well that my friends, is HUGE for me.

all my life i have been dependent on others to tell me what the verses in the Bible mean. tell me stories of the Bible, fill me in. but now that i'm in this study, it's geared toward figuring out the Bible and digging in...studying to show yourself - - i find it intriguing and amazing that God points out certain things to me and they just so happen to help me with what i am going through at the moment. it's not by chance friends. i am astounded, seriously. :)

at any rate it's totally awesome and i love it. it's a side of me i've never discovered and i asked Jesus into my heart when i was 9 years old. so precisely 20 years ago this year. i have so much more to learn and i bet i won't learn it ALL by the time my time on earth is done. but at least i can share what i do learn with my friends, family and pass the importance of studying the Bible onto Haylee. i'm really excited for the opportunity!

have a blessed weekend. :)
xoxoxoxo

awesome

so as i was doing my Bible study pages on monday night i came across a verse (from the new international version of the Bible) that i really LOVE. it was the first time i read it, i do believe because it really meant a lot to me. it is in Psalm 119, which you may know was written by David.

David's love for God amazes me when i read chapter 119 of Psalm. just the LOVE he has...i hope one day to be as passionate about the Bible and God and sharing it with others. i really do. :) it's awesome.

ok, here's the verse that really clings to my heart & mind:

Psalm 119:32
"I run in the path of your commands for you have set my heart free."

think about that one for a moment, let it sink in. instead of stumbling through the laws of Christ, David RUNS in the path of His {God's} commands because he knows that THEN and ONLY then will he truly have a free heart. it's very lovely, right?