MeLissa received a very pleasant "late" Christmas present last night. Banshee Claws came in for a visit (she was thrilled to do so since it was raining!) and actually stayed for a while. She also humored MeLissa by wearing the Santa hat. It looks like we may have some fun Christmas cards next year...
We really did have a pretty nice Christmas despite being away from our families this year (and despite Christmas dinner not arriving - we'll have to try the honey baked route some other time). Santa Rocco was a little more sublime this year than last year given his eye surgery, but he still managed to bring plenty of Christmas cheer to our home. 
He found some excellent things to make MeLissa smile. Delicate white gold and tanzanite earrings were a wonderful surprise. Then there were entertaining books from Martha Stewart to give her ideas once she begins helping others plan weddings and other events (and there's quite a few things that will make our own parties quite wonderful, too!). A bioelectric shield to balance her body's energy and protect her from negative outside sources was just what the doctor ordered (literally!). But, due to its sentimental value, the mini grand father clock Mark found which 
showcases Thomas Kincade's Light of Peace along with playing Somewhere Out There (one of MeLissa's favorite songs!) is probably the most cherished gift she received.
Mark's gifts from MeLissa were a combination of fun and practical gifts. He received some breakaway pants, notebooks, pens and sticky notes 
(standard gift fare for Mark while he's in school), a slinky (which Pixie also thinks is quite amusing!), a Three Stooges Video and a giant martini glass! This gift paired very well with a gift from Mark's parents to us - slipper stir sticks! To make travelling less frustrating for Mark, a gift of monogrammed luggage straps in "yum yum" yellow, were wrapped up tight! To keep him well dressed, socks and boxers were just right. To round things out, one more thing was found - a shirt to express Mark's true feelings on fruitcake - a food he's glad isn't avaiable year round! The shirt is all the more fitting since MeLissa's family (with a few exceptions) actually likes fruitcake and eats a good bit during the holidays; thus, disproving Mark's theory that there is only one fruitcake in the entire world that has been passed for centuries. This cake might exist, but only because it hasn't been given to the MeLissa's family!
We received a few other gifts as well - ornaments and candies from Mark's parents (can you guess which ornament they gave?) along with some fun presents the color of our Christmas tree that will come in handy! And, from our friends Lisa and Rob, a bottle of wine and some very nice handmade candle holders and a handmade ornament to grace our tree!
Our only bit of disappointment for the day was that our Christmas dinner (the previously discussed honey baked ham) didn't arrive on time. Rather than let this get us down, though, we prepared a Christmas picnic which we enjoyed by our Christmas tree complete with spinach crab dip, veggies, sparkling blueberry
juice and chocolate chip oatmeal cookies (sans eggs and wheat, of course!) We plan to have a post-Christmas Christmas dinner as soon as the other goodies arrive!
Oh, and just because she's so sweet with her little santa outfit on, here's another picture of our dear "Pixie Claus" to warm your heart!
Santa was very good to us this year. Despite the fact that we weren't able to visit either of our families for Christmas, we managed to have a pretty warm and fuzzy celebration at home. We even had our very own Santa Claws to keep us company - as you can see "he" was exhausted from "his" long journey last night (who knew Pixie was such an important kitty to anyone but us?!?) We wish you and yours a love and joy filled day as you celebrate our Lord's birth!
Thanks to my friend Kat for reminding me of this very fun website! Click the post link above and you will be magically transported to the Santa tracking site at NORAD in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Every kid (regardless of their age -1 to 99 counts, folks!) should acquaint themselves with this site which tracks the jolly old man as he travels the world delivering toys to good little girls and boys.
Santa's already made several stops that you can check out in the earlier sightings area of the site! And, of course, there are plenty of facts about the man in red and even some celebrity sightings to amuse you!
Merry Christmas to all!
We wanted to wish all of our family and friends a very Merrry Christmas! We're glad to have been able to visit with some of you during the year and we hope that we see even more of you all next year.
We thought we would leave you with an amusing picture that we found. The snowman to the right (dubbed Snowzilla) is 16 feet tall - isn't it good to know that snowmen tend to be jolly happy souls?!
Mark had surgery on his left eye today. According to the surgeons, the retinal reattachment and corneal transplant surgeries both went "very well." So, now we just have to keep our fingers crossed that it all heals up as it should and that repeat surgeries will be unnecessary.
Thanks to all of you who kept Mark in your thoughts - we hope you'll continue to do so!
Well, it looks like we'll actually be cooking for Christmas and New Year's after all. We were going to cheat and go out since MeLissa was feeling a little "bah humbuggy" after the whole "can't go home for Christmas" thing. She's snapped herself out of it now and so we're scheduled to have some pretty tasty vittles during the holiday week.
We ordered a trio of treats from the Honey Baked Ham Company to be the stars of our feasts - ham (of course!), turkey breast (which will probably be post holiday fare) and even some prime rib which will grace our plates on New Year's day. As for the second most important part of any holiday feast (dessert!) we'll be having a strawberry pie a la Mark (if you want the recipe, sign up for the recipe group!). MeLissa also is going to try to make oatmeal chocolate chip cookies (an Allen family favorite) and gumdrop cookies (one of MeLissa's favorite!) without eggs. This will be the first non-brownie eggless cookie attempt - wish us well! It should be a pretty sweet Christmas!
In other non-Christmas related news, Mark is enjoying his time off from school (especially since he isn't yet recovering from surgery - that's this coming Wednesday!). He's been busy studying ahead for his next quarter to make his life easier when it arrives. MeLissa has also been studying. She's making good progress on her wedding planning course. She expects to finish it in the middle of January (or sooner, if possible!) and will then get started on her event planning studies. She's still very excited about her new opportunity and can't wait until she can actually start helping people achieve their "party dreams"!
We have received quite a few Christmas cards already this year and are looking forward to those that will arrive in the coming days. It is always great to find something worth reading in one's mailbox, don't you think?
It seems like so long ago that the mailbox contained "desireable" mail (yes, we get the occasional birthday card, wedding announcement, etc., but in general, we're sure you agree, bills and solicitations are the norm in the mailbox and who really wants those?). Email has definitely changed the world...perhaps for the better in some respects (like being able to stay up-to-date on what friends and family are up to), but don't you find it a bit sad that our children will probably never experience the pure joy that we as children felt when a letter from a pen pal or a relative was in amongst all the "grown up" mail that came to our parents? It's hard to believe that an email could possibly elicit a level of excitement that compares, though, admittedly, it does happen on rare occasions.
We'd like to send a thank you, our dear friends and family, for allowing us to relive a little bit of the excitement from our childhood to those of you who have or will be sending us cards this year! We always enjoy hearing from you and learning what adventures you've had.
Trips to the mailbox in December are filled with anticipation for the "goodies" we'll find in the box. They say Christmas is for children - perhaps Christmas cards are the perfect way for us all to hang onto the special joy of our childhood and they make pretty nice wall decorations, too! Keep those cards coming!
Yesterday was an interesting day for us. We travelled to Stanford Hospital in the morning where Mark would be having his retinal surgery which includes a corneal transplant surgery. The cornea surgery is done so that the retinal surgeon can see how the retina is doing after he fixes it. Without this add-on surgery (which, we should mention increases scheduling complexity since two surgeons are now necessary), it's nearly impossible for the retinal doctor to see if the surgery was a success or not.
The report from yesterday's procedure is that the procedure wasn't done. Somehow, the cornea never was ordered. We're sure it was a simple oversight, whether due to the strike that occured at the hospital earlier in the week or for some other reason (we've heard speculation that the corneal doctor's wife might have had a baby which we all know can send the best organized person and the best laid plans into a tail spin), but it was a bit frustrating to have spent so much time in the hospital only to learn that we'd have to do it all again (including the whole IV thing which is, truthfully, more painful for MeLissa than Mark since she's a bit phobic about sharp pointing things going into anyone's skin!), but since it's better to do things right the first time, we understand. And, on the bright side, it did allow us to run a few errands that we've needed to take care of for a while. We'll post an update on Mark's real surgery once it happens. :)
In other news, Christmas preparations for our families are finally done! We packed up the first of two boxes of goodies last night - one is on its way to Maui for Mark's parents and Grandmother and one is on its way to Tahoe City, California, for Mark's brother and his wife. We hope they like what we've put together for them! MeLissa's family's gifts will be wrappped and assembled tonight for mailing tomorrow - although the presents certainly won't make up for our absence, we hope that they'll at least make Christmas somewhat exciting for our families.
We had quite a few bits of "business" to take care of this weekend and we definitely made a dent! Mark's major challenge was studying for finals which he'll be taking this week. Due to his surgery which is scheduled for Wednesday (we're assuming that it will go on as planned since the Stanford Hospital workers are striking only for 24 hours), Mark had the extreme displeasure of studying a ton of information so that he could take all of his tests in two days instead of four. We're sure he'll wow them!
MeLissa busied herself with a few other tasks while he studied. Primarily, she focused on Christmas preparations (which are behind due to our cancelled trip to Colorado). We can say that the female gift recipients will be coming out very well with all the little goodies MeLissa made for them...she's even contemplating saving some of the goodies for herself! The guys are a bit harder to buy for (though MeLissa did do a pretty good bit of shopping for Mark yesterday), but they'll be treated royally, too, once all is said and done. Once everyone has had a chance to see what they've received, we'll try to post some pictures here!
In addition to Christmas "stuff," MeLissa worked a little on her wedding planning certification course. Things are going smoothly and she expects to finish the course up by mid-January at the latest. If possible, she'd acutally like to finish by the end of December - she plans to use a good portion of Mark's surgery time reading and studying to bring her closer to this goal. She's really enjoying her studies so far - they definitely are helping her to remember how much work (and fun!) it was planning our wedding. Her studies are definitely tapping into the creative side of her brain and are leading to some nifty ideas for the 5th Anniversary party we're hoping to have in 2009! Mark your calendars the evening of July 31, 2009, is sure to be fabulous!
Finally, thanks to a bit of shopping MeLissa did on Friday night, Pixie had a very fun weekend. She now knows the pure joy (and frustration) that a laser pointer can bring a kitty. She and MeLissa spent a good portion of the weekend playing with her new toy (which was supposed to be her Christmas present, but MeLissa was too anxious to have fun!). Both MeLissa and Mark get quite a kick out of seeing Pixie try to catch the red light - it is especially fun when she runs in circles or tries to catch it when it's on her paw!
As for Banshee, she wasn't too impressed by the light, but she also enjoyed her weekend. She primarily spent it in her typical fashion by hiding (either outside in her home or inside under the couch) and, in short spurts, viewing the neighborhood from oh high (she enjoys going up on our roof to look over the land). She also enjoyed some really pleasant petting sessions.
Our trip to Colorado is now cancelled or at least postponed to no earlier than June 2006. We're very disappointed, but due to discovering today that Mark's left eye has followed in the right eye's footsteps by having a retinal detachment, we are simply unable to travel at this time. The change in status of Mark's eye is also disappointing, but due to the number of surgeries Mark has had on his eyes, it is not terribly unexpected.
We are sorry that we will miss seeing MeLissa's family whom we've not seen since the wedding in July 2004. We're also disappointed that we'll miss seeing our friends during this time. We were really looking forward to visiting with all of you. Hopefully, we'll be able to make the visit up next summer and with any luck, our stay in the Bay Area will be coming to an end in December 2007 at which time we'll more likely than not return to Colorado.
Until then, we hope you'll keep us in our prayers....especially Mark whom we hope has a quick recovery from this health issue. We are thankful that he's approaching a school break so that the many days he'll spend face-down will not interfere with his studies...especially since his next quarter will end with his first part of the chiropractic board exam.
We had a busy and fabulously fun weekend! Friday night was spent hustling and bustling to get those last minute party preparations squared away. All day Saturday we busied ourselves with cooking and baking and, of course, table decorations. Everything was perfect!
Unfortunately, you probably will only catch glimpses of the various table decorations (and the festivities) because we were more focused on having a great time than we were with taking photos. If you're really curious about decor, we can probably give a pretty detailed description...all you have to do is ask!
MeLissa took a quick break to pick up Chris (her brother who's time with the USS Ronald Reagan is now officially over!) from the airport. Then it was back to the house to do a few more little things before the guests started arriving!
By the way - as a short aside - if you look in the background of this shot you can get a nice little peak at one of the "Snoopy Spots" in our house! :)
First to arrive was our friend Diane who is a chiropractic student with Mark at Life West. For being prompt, Diane won a lovely Christmas tree light necklace! Andrew, a friend and former coworker of MeLissa's was our first male attendee and, as such, was awarded with a giant candy cane (or rock as we learned they are referred to in England!) that should keep him on a sugar high for at least a month - a fitting reward for the man who kindly acted as MeLissa's surrogate stomach at PG&E by eating all the yummy things she knew she shouldn't! All our other guests, arrived shortly there after and began to partake of lemon drops, peppermintinis, apple cider, mexican crab dip, crudites and other yummy nibblers.
Once most of the guests were on hand, MeLissa let them know that Santa's reindeer (and a few friends) had been hidden throughout the house and that three of them (which were hid in very hard to find places) had special black dots that were worth a prize for those who found them! Lance & Cassie, Josephine & Kevin and Diane were the big winners in this game which lasted most of the evening caused a bit of frustration for our guests (and even MeLissa at one point who couldn't remember where she had hidden some of the reindeer the week before - good thing she made a list of their hiding spots)!
We took a break for dinner and enjoyed such things as Chili & Rice (a favorite of Mark's which he rarely has anymore due to MeLissa's allergies) and Nachos Navidad with all the trimmings. Once everyone had their fill of that and delectable desserts such as Butter-Rum Bundt Cake, Pumpkin Pie, Brownies, Peppermint Ice Cream and even a decorated gingerbread house (MeLissa's major Friday night project we might add!), it was time for more conversation and games.
MeLissa gave the guests the choice of which game they'd like to play first - the Greeting Card Toss or Pin the Nose on Rudolphina. The Greeting Card Toss won and everyone took their turn seeing how many cards they could toss into a laundry basket. Sounds easy, huh? Well, out of a possible 20 (2 rounds of 10 cards), our high score was 7 - a good showing by Kevin! Christopher, Lance and Cassandra all made excellent showings as well. It was also pretty amusing, to see just how uncooperative those Christmas cards could be!! But, probably the most amusing thing about this game was Pixie the Cat's reaction. She couldn't tell whether people were trying to throw the cards so she could pounce on them or to hit her. It was pretty amusing watching her antics as she jumped back and forth between the cards and tried to dodge those that were incoming. She's pretty agile so it was no problem!
We didn't want Rudolphina to feel unloved so we made attempts to pin her nose on after that. It was pretty funny to watch how "off" some people could be with their noses, but nothing quite compared to MeLissa's turn. Due to her balance issues as a result of her medical problems in September, MeLissa was a little "tipsy" after they turned her around (and, no, it wasn't because of the lemon drops and peppermintinis - really!). Thankfully, she had adequate supervision and made it over to Rudolphina and actually hit her nose with her red sticky! Winners in this game were Diane and Kevin for being the farthest away from Rudolphina's nose and to Cassie and Chris (we think!) for being the closest.
Once the fun and games were over, we all sat and chatted for a while until most of the guests were ready to go home and dream of sugar plums dancing in their heads. We sent them on their way with Candy Cane Bath Salts for the girls and Liqueur Coffees for the guys (we had Southern Comfort, Jack Daniels, Irish Creme, and Frangellico flavors with a few Ghiradelli chocolates ones thrown in for good measure!). Everyone was pretty happy with their treats.
The next morning, Chris, Mark and MeLissa piled into the car and set off for a whirlwind tour of San Francisco...one of the few places, it seems, that Chris hasn't visited! We drove him across the San Mateo Bridge, by what will always be Candlestick (rather than Monster) Park, through downtown San Francisco, across the Golden Gate Bridge, by San Quentin prison, and then back to Oakland Airport where he hopped out and hopped his flight back to San Diego for his final hours in that town while Mark and MeLissa took the steps necessary to return their home to it's "normal" state.
Chris is now on his way back to Colorado where he'll be recruiting for the Navy in Canon City. He's really looking forward to spending more time with his little boy Tyler since he'll be close by! We're looking forward to seeing them both in a little while when we go home for Christmas!
And, of course, plans for our next Christmas party are already being formulated in MeLissa's head, but she may be hosting a Spa products party first - stay tuned! Oh, and if any of our friends are hungry, please drop by - we have tons of yummy leftovers which we would love to share with you!
Today was MeLissa's birthday. We're happy to report that she has yet again managed to avoid growing older and will be, as she has been for the past several years, 25! :)
The celebration started yesterday evening with a trip to the Hawaiian restaurant. We picked up some grub and then headed over to Lisa and Rob's house. We'd not seen them for a while and we thought it would be an excellent opportunity! Their house was beautifully decorated in accordance with the "Christmas decor should be up by MeLissa's birthday directive" proving yet again that Lisa and Rob are AWESOME people! :) Lisa surprised MeLissa with a little gift containing a strawberry growing kit and a sentimental gift to remind her that Lisa loves her just the way she is. On our way home, Lisa gave one more gift - a funny book of "Catmas Carols" by Laurie Loughlin. Here's a cute one for your amusement:
Cute huh?We Three Cats
We three cats of Orient are
Terrified to get in the car.
Why go out for celebrating?
We'll stay right where we are. Oooh....
Home is heaven. Home is good.
Home is where we get our food.
Why go out for Christmas parties?
Frankly we're not in the mood.
We're not happy with a trip yet.
Seems they always end in the vet.
These excursions are diversions
We'd just as soon forget. Oooh....
(Repeat Chorus)
RainbowsMeLissa really appreciates the compliment Mark gave her. She hopes to follow the directions on the inside of the card which reads
are people
whose lives
are bright,
shining
examples
for others.
Maya Angelou
Mark also presented MeLissa with The Martha Rules: 10 Essentials for Achieving Success as You Start, Build or Manage a Business. (by Martha Stewart) We're guessing that Martha didn't include "Don't get caught in insider trading scandals." After all, this is pretty much common sense, right? We're looking forward to seeing what tips she has to offer despite her straying off the righteous path briefly. :)Shine on, shine on,
The world needs more people like you.
Yes, my friends, it is official! The Rocco household is officially open for
Christmas! The finishing touch was various collages of cards on the stairwell walls. It really dresses things up and is an excellent excuse to save those Christmas cards that you just feel awful throwing away because they're so beautiful! Here's a picture of Pixie inspecting MeLissa's handiwork and a few pictures of the overall look as well as some closeups of the collages. There's also a picture of the pantry in the kitchen all decked out in the lower right-hand corner.
Speaking of Christmas cards, we received our first today from Lisa and 
Rob! It was a bit of a surprise since we thought we were very early in sending out our cards today, but Lisa told MeLissa that she'd actually received a card
as well. My, my but people are prompt this year!
Well, we should say, perhaps, that some people are prompt. One of vendors providing supplies for our party is not. It is highly unlikely, 
from the looks of it, that they will deliver these goods until well after the party which is disturbing, but MeLissa figures it is just a good excuse to have another party next year...or maybe even a smaller party this year, but that might be a bit crazy so let's shoot for next year, okay?!? 
We're really looking forward to the rest of this week. MeLissa's birthday is on Thursday, the party is on Saturday and as an added bonus, MeLissa's little brother is coming on Saturday to enjoy the festivities! We're thrilled about that and are hopeful that we can at least show him a couple nifty things in the Bay Area before he heads back to San Diego and then onto Colorado for his next adventure as a Naval Recruiter. If you're in the Pueblo, Colorado, area and you're thinking about joining the armed services, look Christopher Allen up! He'll get you in and will treat you right!
We have been extraordinarily productive this four day weekend! Truthfully, this is not out of the ordinary. We have a rule in the Rocco household - the tree and the Christmas decorating has to be complete prior to MeLissa's birthday (that would be December 1 for those of you not *in the know*). To accomplish such a task, it pretty much requires the sacrifice of most of the Thanksgiving weekend - we don't mess around when it comes to Christmas, friends...and besides, we have a party in a week! The house has to be decked out for such a joyous occasion! We are happy to report, thought, that no elves were seriously harmed during the decorating process despite a flurry of pine boughs, ornaments and candles.
The first thing on any list when preparing for Santa is, of course, to hang those stockings with 
care. This year, we are using our knitted stockings which we received as a wedding present from MeLissa's friend Marlys last year. We really think they're special since she made them just for us! And, of course, we've hung a couple for Pixie and Banshee, too. We found a lovely garland with pinecones and faux apples to grace our mantle and added some white Christmas lights to add that extra touch of class as it twinkles through the silver and gold stocking holders and the various crystal pieces that we've used as accents. The mirror in the background really brings everything to life. Finally, we cleaned up the fireplace and put our candleabra (another cool wedding present) in there to make things bright and cheery without making it too hot!
Once the stockings were hung, our focus shifted to the Christmas tree. Decorating the tree is 
MeLissa's favorite activity every Christmas (though she could do without the shaping ritual that goes on before the decorating!). She has a lot of ornaments and so it becomes, at some point, a challenge to find an empty branch on our small tree, but we always manage somehow. Many of the ornaments are those which MeLissa's parents gave her as gifts while she grew up. It was MeLissa's mom's goal to have a boxful of ornaments to give each of her children when they grew up and moved away so that they could enjoy a fully decorated tree and enjoy some family memories at the same time! In addition to the many heirloom ornaments, MeLissa has quite a collection of Snoopy ornaments (which shouldn't surprise any of her friends and family members given her obsession over the world's greatest beagle!) and a nice 
sprinkling of S'mores ornaments. She's also interested in developing a collection of ice cube ornaments which she began last year with our "First Christmas" ornament - this lovely bride and groom!
Tomorrow, we'll be busy again - trying to finish up the last decorating touches in the entry way and we're also going to try to decorate a gingerbread house which we'd like to have available for our party guests to nibble on! Once we've finished decorating, we'll jump into making our Christmas gifts for the year. We can't give you any hints about those (well, maybe we could, but then we'd have to lock you in a windowless room until Christmas!), but we promise they'll be useful and utterly fabulous!
That means four days off, lots of turkey and, if you're brave (which we're not) after-Thanksgiving sales.
We're staying at home this year to avoid inconvieniencing anyone with MeLissa's food "issues." Since she is allergic to some major ingredients in stuffing, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes and yep, horror of horrors, pie, it was bound to be a frustrating experience going to Thanksgiving at someone else's house (and, perhaps, even insulting for our host and hostess!), though, we really did appreciate the invitation we received from our friends Lisa and Rob.
Never fear, though, as is the case every Thanksgiving, we have a pretty nice meal planned including turkey, cauliflower "mashed potatoes," and even a pumpkin pie of sorts. We're looking forward to it!
We hope all of you will have a fabulous Thanksgiving! We're very thankful that you're part of our lives and for so many other things as well.
Before we go, we want to direct you to the post title above which, if clicked, takes you to an amusing performance by the one individual who isn't so thrilled that Thanksgiving is coming. If you need a Turkey Day chuckle (or would that be gobble?), this should do the trick!
Happy Thanksgiving!
Mark and MeLissa
We have exciting news folks!!! Mark's public health paper that we've been telling you so much about is in its final stages. Mark finished his first draft on Thursday night and MeLissa began reworking the draft on Friday during her lunch hour. MeLissa, for those of you who are unaware, is quite the wiz when it comes to writing and grammar -- so much so that she was asked by professors at her high school to come help grade English compositions after she graduated for several years (it was an *awesome* way to make a little spending money for Christmas break!).
MeLissa spent a good portion of Saturday and Sunday "grading" Mark's paper and providing suggestions for its improvement including a pretty substantial effort on the introductin and conclusion sections. We're sure that between the two of us, Mark will pass Public Health with flying colors, but keep him in your thoughts as he wades through all the comments and suggestions over the next few days. The paper is due on November 18!
In other news, MeLissa has made great strides toward completing the EVIL Dutchman's puzzle block. She is fully convinced still that triangles are E-V-I-L, but she also thinks they can be beat into submission after her recent successes. She'll post a picture of the finished block when she manages to finish it. Her final quilting class is coming up this Thursday. She plans to register for next quarter's class as well so that she can eventually claim her "Quilting Goddess" status.
And, one final note - a public service announcement, if you'll indulge us - please be sure to receive regular eye exams to prevent potential blindess from glaucoma. Check with your vision specialist to see how often you should be screened based upon your family and personal health histories. We want you to be able to see and enjoy all the world has to offer for many years to come!
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!
MeLissa actually finished this block quite a while ago, but didn't post the picture. We figure some of you might enjoy seeing her first "real" block (i.e., it's going to go into a quilt!). It is, of course, Christmas-themed...MeLissa's favorite season. It is called a nine-patch block...can't possibly imagine why. ;) MeLissa's currently working on a Dutchman's Puzzle block which is giving her a lot of grief. She will win in the end, but she may have to be tricky!
In other MeLissa news, she's making plans for Christmas gifts, Christmas cards, our Christmas party and she's also spent a little time working on her future event planning business. She foresees venturing out into the world in early to mid-2006 as a supplemental income opportunity. When Mark's finished with school, she may pursue her "dream job" full-time! She plans to provide services for intimate events including birthdays, anniversaries, weddings, holiday parties, dinner parties, etc. She will possibly do do a few large events, if the opportunity arises, but she prefers the flexibility and extra opportunities for service that comes with planning smaller events. If you'd like to help her with her newest "venture," please ask any individuals you know who might be or already use an event planner for parties at their homes or elsewhere to contact her so that she can survey them about their needs. And, of course, if anyone wants any help on a social event they're planning let MeLissa know - she's looking for opportunities to boost her portfolio!
As for Mark, he's busily writing a paper for his Public Health class. His subject is glaucoma and he'll be discussing the public health threat it poses and what should be done to mediate these risks. His current quarter ends on December 16. He and MeLissa will travel to Colorado at some time during the holidays to visit with MeLissa's family and and to see all their friends in Colorado Springs and Denver!
Our kitties are also doing well -they're happy and healthy and are enjoying their new sleeping arrangements. Banshee is now an outdoor kitty with supervised indoor visits. She seems much happier and we don't have to worry about what little liquid "present" we're going to find next. She pretty much stays on our deck, but from time to time, she enjoys hopping up on the roof so that she can feel like she's on top of the world.
Pixie enjoys Banshee being outside because she gets to be the Princess again. She's become much more loving and "clingy" which we don't mind. She typically sleeps at the foot of our bed now because on the first night when Banshee wasn't inside and Pixie was lonely, we left our door open so that she wouldn't feel abandoned and she hopped up on the bed and didn't bother Mark nearly as much as he thought she would...especially since, for the most part, she stays in MeLissa's foot space!
We had so much fun last night at Alise (pictured with Heidi) and Brian's (pictured below Mark 
and MeLissa on the left) Halloween bash! You might remember that MeLissa met them while travelling to Las Vegas back in July. Their Halloween party is the highlight of Halloween for many - and for good reason!
Their house and backyard were decked out with spooky things to send shivers up your spine. They had tons of food and lots of libations that everyone enjoyed immensely! It was a great turn out with 
almost everyone in a well-thought out costume. We went as the Prom King and Queen which was really fun - any 
chance to wear a crown and carry around a dozen roses should be taken advantage of! :) For those of you wondering *where* MeLissa got that dress (she received a lot of inquiries on Saturday night), it was her Junior Prom dress and, incidentally, the evening gown she wore in the teen pageant she was in (yes, she subjected herself to such torture - once!)
With so many people in attendance, finding new friends was easy. Although we enjoyed many people's company, we really hit it off 
with Michelle and Jennifer pictured above (2nd photo from the top on right). Jennifer is a professional freelance photographer specializing in food, people and travel. Be sure to give her a call the next time you need a memory captured.
During the evening, there were two costume contests - one for the children and one for the adults. 
Everyone enjoyed seeing the children in their costumes and, of course, they all won a prize, but Willy Wonka (3rd photo from the top on the left) stole the show and took top honors.
In the adult contest which was judged by the children, Best costume went to these two lovely vampiresses pictured with Brian and the "guy with the pig nose (4th 
photo from top on the left)." "The Baby" (pictured below with his wife,
the Bag Lady - left) and "The Universe" (4th photo from the top on the right) costume wearers took honors for the funniest and most original costumes, respectively. We heard that we were actually in the running for best costume, too...so we feel very honored about that.
After the costume contests, we all conversed and nibbled some more and then headed home with the knowledge that next year's party is only a year away!
We've been a little busy these past couple of weeks. After returning from our adventure on the Ronald Reagan, Mark began his next quarter at school. It should be an interesting, but less challenging one than the last (according to Mark).
MeLissa has been occupied with her quilting class. She finished her very first block during class last week. It was a practice block and she is quite 
pleased with the results. She plans to make it into a pillow when the opportunity presents itself. Since then she has begun her first "real" block to be used in her sampler quilt project. We bought fabric for it a couple of weekends ago. MeLissa decided to take Mark's suggestion and picked out a bunch of cute Christmasy fabrics to make her first project extra special (because she adores Christmas as you all know!). This week she will finish her 9-patch identical to the "practice" quilt block (but Christmasy, of course!). She'll be moving onto making a Honey Bee block next...which, to be honest, looks a bit daunting, but she's sure she'll do just fine!
Mark's been keeping busy with school and weekend seminars. This coming weekend he will start his Diplomat program. This is an add-on certification (we know how much Mark likes to add those letters behind his name!) so that he can do chiropractic neurology. His decision to pursue this degree is a direct result of MeLissa's health issues last month where a blood vessel spasmed in her brain (she's fine now, but it was a bit scary in the beginning!). Her chiropractic neurologist has performed wonders and Mark wants to be able to help his patients just as much. We know he'll be awesome!
In other news, we're beginning the planning phase of a Christmas party we're throwing on December 3. It will be a fun night with food and good friends. Our biggest challenge right now is figuring out how many people we can invite before it become standing-room only! MeLissa has started making the invitations and the lucky attendees should be receiving them in early November. We'll provide updates as the plans progress....
We weren't home from Canada long before we were again rushing out the door to catch a plane! This time, we were staying a little closer to home with a trip to San Diego, California, to participate in Family Day aboard the USS Ronald Reagan - the air craft carrier that MeLissa's brother Christopher currently serves on.
We arrived in San Diego Friday evening and were greeted by Uncle Max and Christopher who had come to pick us up. We all settled in to wait for our guest, Sterling, who would also be participating in the festivities. After waiting for quite some time, we decided to head back to the hotel since we knew that Sterling would be flying stand-by and might have missed the earlier flight. Once Sterling had joined us, we sat down for a lovely dinner and a lively conversation. And, then, it was off to bed!
On Saturday, we all woke up very early to ensure that we'd be on the base by 5:30 a.m. We made it on board and ventured to Chris's office so he could get some coffee to stay awake since he had just recently been switched from overnight security detail to his former missile systems position. While there, we checked out one of his RAM missile launchers and amused ourselves by conversing with the other sailors and their families.
Once everybody had checked in and Chris had reported that all personnel were present and accounted for, we ventured into other areas of the ship to see what we could see. We spent a 
good deal of the day wandering from one end of the ship to the other seeing all there was to see. We were amazed at the small amount of space the sailors had to sleep in...imagine a bookcase with a mattress on each shelf - that's pretty much how it looked! We also enjoyed seeing the Ronald Reagan room which had a history of his life laid out in pictures and video. 
Our favorite moments of the day were seeing dolphins playing behind the ship, and then, thanks to Christopher being one of the few priviledged individuals who had access to the RAM missile launch area of the ship, being able to be outside when the ship was coming back into port. We were one of the few who were able to do this because the launch area had a spot that was concealed from arial views of the ship which was important because an effort to take a picture of the carrier with its crew manning the rails was 
in process so the rest of the family members on board had to go into the hangar bay.
When we returned to shore, with the help of some powerful tug boats, we all piled into cars and headed out. Uncle Max decided to call it a weekend and head home once we arrived. The rest of us took some time to rest (and pack in Sterling's case) and then went out for a quick dinner at Brian's Pub in downtown San Diego. It was a great dinner and we were able to eat and enjoy each other's company just in time to rush Sterling to 
the airport so he wouldn't miss his flight! Since we'd all been up since the crack of dawn, we all headed to bed after dropping him off!
Our last day in San Diego was primarily spent visiting MeLissa's friend Tammy from high school whose husband, Matt, is also assigned to the Ronald Reagan. We all enjoyed visiting with Tammy and Matt and watching the antics of their children Mason and Malea! Then, we rushed off to the airport and returned home so that poor Chris could get some much needed sleep!
This past week was fraught with adventures for us! And, they were the best kind because not only did we get to do fun things, we got to do them all with family! We kicked off our adventures on Friday afternoon with lunch at Mimi's Cafe (www.mimiscafe.com) with our friends Matthew and Beth who are on their way to a new adventure in New York. We’re thrilled that they’ll be able to enjoy each other’s company more (now that they won’t each be commuting an hour one way!), but we’re definitely sad to see them go because *we* won’t be able to enjoy their company as easily! Nevertheless we wish them well in their new venture and look forward to visiting New York!
After lunch on Friday, we returned home and packed for our flight the next day. We would be traveling to Detroit where we would stay one night and then venture over the border into Canada for a visit with Mark’s grandmother. When we arrived in Detroit, we made our way to the car rental agency where we got more than we bargained for! Since they were out of mid-sized vehicles, they upgraded us to a Chrysler 300 – a very nice luxury sedan with leather seats, satellite radio and such a smooth ride that when we returned home and drove our car for the first time in several days, MeLissa was wondering if there was something wrong with one of the tires since the ride was so bumpy!
Once we had our vehicle, we headed toward Mark’s Aunt Connie’s 
house where we would be staying the night. While there, we met Uncle Dickie and Dominick. We all headed out for a late dinner and then returned to the house where we enjoyed discussing a variety of topics with Aunt Connie. It was a great start to our vacation! The next morning, we enjoyed a yummy breakfast and then said our good-byes and headed up the road to Canada where we would visit with Uncle Timmy and Grammy!
Once we finally made it across the border into Windsor, Ontario,(we experienced some delays due to our confusion over road signs and such), we visited the visistor’s bureau to see what there was to do while we waited for Uncle Timmy and Grammy to arrive. When they did arrive, it was fun to see how surprised and excited Grammy was to see us since she hadn’t known we were coming to visit.
We all piled into our respective vehicles and headed to Kingsville, Ontario, where Grammy lives. We all chatted for a little once we arrived and then Mark and Uncle Timmy took a trip to visit the docks while Grammy and MeLissa relaxed and enjoyed each other’s company. It had been a few months since we'd been able to have a nice chat so we had a lot of things to talk about!
Later that day, we were able to see Aunt Inie and Aunt Faye. They were thrilled to see how tall and handsome Mark had grown to be. They hadn’t seen him for such a long time! And, they 
were also happy to meet MeLissa since they had only been able to see her in the wedding picture that they had received in their Christmas card! We all took a little jaunt out to grab some dinner at a restaurant in town and then, Mark, MeLissa, Aunt Inie and Aunt Faye traveled to Aunt Inie’s house where we could share our wedding video.
When we arrived at her house, Aunt Inie called Cory & Mary 
Ellen and Jodie & David (Mark’s cousins) to see if they could come for a visit with us. Everyone came over including Katie and Crissy, Jodie and David’s daughters. They were all very happy to see the wedding video…some were even close to tears! We enjoyed each others company for a good while and then we all returned home for a good night’s rest.
The next day, we traveled back to Windsor to visit the chiropractor and Devonshire mall for a bit of shopping. MeLissa was surprised and excited to learn that Northern Reflections, the retail store she had worked in during college, was still in 
existence (she had thought they had closed their doors years ago!). She learned that the store had pulled back its operations and was only found in Canada and a couple of US locations. She made good use of her find and walked out with a couple of new outfits to enhance her wardrobe. We also made a quick stop by Hooters to grab a hat for Uncle Max who we knew would appreciate it. While we were there, we paused to allow Mark the opportunity to pose with the Hooter's Hum-V which they had given away recently.
That night, after a trip to the grocery store, MeLissa made Grammy and Uncle Timmy dinner with help from Mark, of course! Everyone was delighted with the culinary offerings and enjoyed the opportunity to relax and enjoy each other’s company. Following dinner (and clean-up, of course), Mark, Uncle Tim and MeLissa watched “Be Cool” and then headed off to bed.
Tuesday would be our last full day in Ontario and we made good use of it visiting with family members. Aunt Inie and Aunt Faye were accompanied by Aunt Ann and 
her daughter, Mark’s cousin, Robbie. It was fun hearing stories they told about growing up and raising their families. Watching for squirrels was also amusing! We headed to King’s Landing for lunch, for which we were joined by another Aunt Ann – you can never have too many! After lunch, we said good bye to Aunt Ann and Robbie and hello to Mary Ellen who joined us for more story telling!
When it was time for everyone to head out, Mark, Uncle Timmy, Aunt Faye and MeLissa all piled into the car and headed to Jack Miner’s to see the geese and other birds that live and visit there. Jack Miner was the pioneered the tagging of waterfowl so that their migration could be tracked in 1909.
After having a good gander (ha ha!) at the geese, ducks and peafowl, we ventured to 
Leamington, home of the Heinz factory where Aunt Faye lives. After visiting for a while at her house, we returned to Grammy's where we decided to take a little walk. On our way, we caught site of this beautiful Blue Jay.
The next day, we packed up and headed back to Detroit to fly home. We were sad to leave Canada and all of our sweet relatives behind! We'll be visiting again soon we hope. Once we arrived in Detroit, we had a little extra time so we took the opportunity to eat lunch and to explore a few areas of Detroit in our vehicle. Then it was off to the airport and back to California for a couple of days....until we headed off for our next adventure.
Spread the news, Mark's last year as a "twenty-something" is at hand!!!
Our celebration began by watching an old episode of the Dukes of Hazzard which always makes Mark crack up. Once we were able to drag him away from the TV set, MeLissa and Rick took him to dinner at Ohana Grill for some Hawaiian food! Once Mark's tummy was happy, we returned home so he could open his presents and cards.
Mark's gifts, though not glamorous, were exactly what he was wishing for - some new jean shorts and some new pens, highlighters and notebooks for school. MeLissa picked up two cards (she couldn't choose between the two!) for him as well which he really liked. We've attached the funny card here 
for your enjoyment.
After slaving away at his board review class on Saturday, Mark returned home to find the products of MeLissa's attempts to make "allergy-free" cinnamon rolls and brownies as well as vanilla ice cream and hot fudge sauce so that Mark could have a yummy hot fudge birthday sundae! Everything turned out pretty well...all things considered. There's room for improvement in the cinnamon rolls (though Mark thinks they're great as-is) so she'll probably be trying those again soon! All in all, Mark was pleased with his birthday weekend, but MeLissa hopes that this year's celebration will pale in comparison to what she is dreaming up for next year!
