Clean Air and a Breath of Fresh Air to Boot!

We're very excited about the air we're breathing today here at the Rocco house! We just had our ducts cleaned and a new electrostatic filter put in and we're pretty excited about that! This has been one of the "to do's" on our house list for quite some time! Next up - finish putting up the blinds in the living room.

In MeLissa news, she just registered yesterday for a combination Event/Wedding Planner certification course...so her dream of breaking into the business is on its way! The program she chose offers a thorough curriculum and as well as an externship where she is assigned an event in her area which she is responsible for planning from start to finish. During this process, she will have a team of support individuals backing her up with guidance and years of experience. She plans to finish the study course in early 2006 and will coordinate her assigned event at that time. Once her first "official" event is successfully planned and put to bed, MeLissa will receive her dual certificate and will have the opportunity to either join the company she received training from as an independent contractor or to go out on her own.

Either way, once she finishes, she will begin preparing and planning to obtain her credential as a Certified Special Events Professional. This is the premier designation for event planning professionals which provides assurance that a special events professional possesses the level of skill necessary to provide quality services to his/her client. It is very similar in function to the Certified Public Accountant (CPA) designation MeLissa already possesses which assures her clients and employers that she possesses the necessary skills to successfully perform accounting tasks. This certification is similar to the CPA certification in that continuing education and experience requirements must me met to retain the certification over the long term. MeLissa believes that attaining this designation will set her apart from other event planners and increase her chances for success much as her CPA has helped her be successful in the realm of accounting, which as was mentioned in the past post, MeLissa will continue to pursue until such time that her event planning venture has grown to such a level that she can afford to "retire" and pursue event and wedding planning full-time. She's very excited about her new venture and so there will be frequent updates on her progress!

As for Mark, he's still working away on his Public Health paper. He's been very productive over the past couple of weeks and plans on having his first draft ready for MeLissa to proof read for gramar and syntax by the end of the weekend!