Memorial Day Weekend

This wonderful three day weekend celebrating all those who so generously gave of their time and lives to keep the United States and the American dream alive and well, found the inhabitants of Roccoland busily scurrying this way and that. :)

On Saturday, MeLissa started off her day by making some much-needed "renovations" to our deck area. After serving as the home of Banshee, our errant kitty, for a few months and after a long and rainy "winter" (it very very rarely snows here so we use the term winter loosely), the deck was looking mighty messy. So messy that we wouldn't even take a "before" picture to show you! (We rarely think to take before pictures, though, regardless of the state of affairs so this doesn't really mean much.) After a few hours of pruning, sweeping, organizing and more sweeping, we are happy to unveil the result!

Of course, it no longer looks like this either. MeLissa made a few small adjustments so that it would look even better and so that it would be inviting. Perhaps we'll get a picture of this in the near future. Until then, perhaps you would enjoy pictures of our beautiful hydrangea blossom (a plant gift from Mark's mom!) and our cute little Winnie the Pooh bird bath which was one of MeLissa's favorite wedding gifts given to us by Mark's Uncle Timmy and Aunt Michiko. If we ever remember to buy some more seed mix, we'll take the plants out and feed the birdies that live in the tree beside our deck! Oh, and anyone who has a suggestion of how to remove the mossy green color from our deck easily, please let us know. MeLissa "mopped" it off with lysol and bleach last year but really would prefer and easier method this time around.

After MeLissa was pleased with the preliminary deck results, we went out for some errands. We headed to Office Max to see if they had something that would hold and allow MeLissa to cart around her invitation books. She's now a proud dealer of the Encore Studios line of wedding and social invitations (including Bar and Bat Mitzvah invites) as well as their birth announcements. The catalogs are exquisite and quite large so it was tricky finding something that they would fit in. Office Max wasn't the place. We took a detour to look at GPS units at Best Buy (we're thinking MeLissa might need one of these to find all these nifty vendors and sites she needs to visit in the next couple of months as she gets things up and running). We found a couple that should meet her needs, but we want to do a little more homework before we buy one.

Then, based on a tip from the salesperson at Office Max, we ventured to Target to see what we could find as far as storage solutions. We made a quick pit stop in Cost Plus World Market where we found (believe it or not!) a brand of chocolate that did not have soy in it. Sadly, it did not taste very good so we're limited to Trader Joe's offerings. At Target, we found some great storage units (we bought 3 huge purple bins), but none that rolled which is what MeLissa was hoping for (seriously, these books are huge!). So, we visited Newpark mall to check on the other tip - VIP luggage.

Here, we hit the jackpot. We found a great suitcase that is large enough to hold several albums and rolls. And, the customer service - wonderful! As a bonus, MeLissa was stopped by a couple of young ladies who wanted to see her invitation album and who took her card to tell their friends about her. She may have been right on when she first saw the albums and said these invitations could possibly sell themselves! Oh, and we also found a cute strapless top at American Eagle to liven up MeLissa's wardrobe. ;)

Sunday, we took it a little easier and pretty much only made it to the grocery store. We also got some laundry done...nothing too exciting!

Today, though, MeLissa was again on her game. She did a little moving about of things in the master and guest bed rooms, implemented a few tricks she learned from her buddy, Martha Stewart, and voila - two great looking rooms that are very inviting! She also took a little look to see when it might be feasible for us to go to Colorado and Maui in celebration of her freeing herself from Cubicle Land. That's right folks, she's planning to break the sad news to her employer this week - in order to be more flexible to meet Mark's needs in the coming months (and to, in general, enjoy her life more!), MeLissa is venturing out as a full-time wedding and event consultant beginning June 16 (this is the day that Mark's summer break begins). We found some great options as far as traveling, but we need a volunteer to take care of little Miss Pixie while we're away. Any volunteers?

And, that, dear friends and family is what we did with our weekend. We hope that you had a lovely weekend as well! The countdown to freedom is 17 days today (Monday) and 16 tomorrow when most of you will read this. Please keep us in your prayers and send as many clients as you can MeLissa's way! Oh, and worry not, we've saved quite a bit of resources over the past couple of months preparing for this. We should be able to live and eat for at least a few months even without any income (which is unlikely given all the great ideas we have to get MeLissa's business booming). We appreciate your support!

Dance Dance Evolution

This is a pretty funny clip that MeLissa found on a friend's blog. It's long, and if you're not one to listen to recent music you may be lost toward the end, but it's cute. We hope you enjoy it!

Update: We moved this little gem to its own page because we figured some of you were going to boycott us if you had to listen to it one more time (never could find a way to not have it start playing immediately upon landing on the page). Click the link below and enjoy!

Dance with Me!

Surgery Results

Well, Mark is recovering from yesterday's surgery - the poor dear. He is in a lot of pain which is unusual. He actually took Tylenol. MeLissa actually had to go buy Tylenol! We don't usually even have this sort of thing in our house...and he's never had to take anything after a surgery, but then, this is a different surgery than all that have come before.

It's different because it was performed on an eye that is giving up. Yes, you read right. Mark's right eye, according to the doctor, is in the beginning stages of decline - it is changing shape and has begun to shrink in size. So, we are now facing a future together that is nothing like we expected. We're both doing our best to be strong for each other.

We visited the doctor this morning for his first post operative visit and he confirmed that there really wasn't anything more that could be done for Mark's eyes. He was very apologetic - it was apparent that he wished he could do something, but that he'd run out of options. We actually feel compassion for him in addition to gratitude - he made a great effort. He mentioned that maybe doing nothing at the beginning would have let Mark have vision for longer, but I think we all agree that being proactive was more our style. To sit idly by and wait for a negative outcome is just not something we could have done.

Mark is being referred to a low vision/blind individual organization that will help evaluate and train him for the challenges he'll face as a fully blind individual. The dog he's been interested in having may be joining our family sooner than expected...we're already amusing ourselves considering how our dear kitty will react - she is deathly afraid of dogs that are half her size. We had planned to get one as a puppy and let it grow with her, but it looks like that plan may be scrapped. Everybody will have lots of adjusting to do...

So, we're sorry for such a "bummer" post here, but we thought you'd all want to know what was going on. Mark is again in the face down position for a week or so. The doctor wants to do everything possible to prolong Mark's visual capabilities.

For those who may be wondering, MeLissa still plans to pursue her new career and her chance to perform with the big band (though this may be postponed for a bit). Mark wouldn't have it any other way. In the long run, we believe it will actually afford us a level of flexibility that a standard 8 to 5 job does not allow.

We thank you for your thoughts and prayers over the past few months and hope that you will continue to pray for us as we travel down this newest path that has been set before us. We're hopeful that despite the adversity we're experiencing. And, we're trying to stay focused on MeLissa's favorite movie quote:

"It's the character that is the strongest that God gives the most challenges to. You can take that as a compliment." (from the Movie Return to Me). Blessings and love to you all - we appreciate your standing strong for us during this difficult time.

Maui Madness

We've updated this post with pictures! We had a tough time weeding out great shots so they may not exactly line up with the text they accompany. You'll forgive us for that won't you? Have a look at all the fun we had! :)

We're back from an unplanned, spur of the moment suprise visit to Maui (how about them adjectives!). We went to visit Mark's family to help them (and us) cope with some rather sad news we received last week at Mark's eye appointment.

We're sorry to report that Mark's eyes are not cooperating as we had hoped they would. They retinas in both eyes have detached and the left eye is actually degenerating. It is not expected to hang in there much longer so he'll just have one viable eye left. For this reason, the doctor (and we!) decided our best course of action is to try to save the right eye and "sacrifice" the left. So, tomorrow will be retinal surgery number 3. With each surgery, the likelihood of a positive outcome decreases. Consequently, we've been advised that we should plan for Mark becoming fully blind or at least much lower vision than he is currently.

On Saturday, we took a little respite from dealing with all of these heavy things and went to the Hawaiian Festival in Pleasanton. We had a great time visiting with friends - Penny, Nola, Nerisse and family! - and eating Hawaiian Shave Ice and even shopping for a few choice Hawaiian books including one on how to properly use Pidgin. Hee hee! It's actually a pretty intersting book with a lot of history. Maybe we'll treat you to a lesson some time. :) Once we'd had our fill of Musubi (well, actually, only Mark eats spam treats), good music and Ducks and Squirrel eating Cheetos (seriously, we have pictures - you just wait!), we headed to the grocery store.

On the way, MeLissa told Mark that since she'd saved a lot of money (to help out when she pursues her business full-time), he should choose where in the world he would want to visit just in case he does lose his vision and she would make it happen. She had suggested going to Hawaii earlier, but at that point he didn't say yes. After thinking about this for a while, though, he realized he really wanted/needed to go home and that his parents probably needed to have him near, too (what a good son, eh?). So, on the way home from the grocery store, he asked if we could go to Maui this weekend.

The next morning (Mother's Day) we were on a plane headed to beautiful Maui where his unsuspecting parents were enjoying an "ordinary" weekend (is any weekend truly ordinary when you live in Maui?). We had let his brother (who is currently at home learning the mortgage business from his dad) know we were coming to make sure that they'd be home when we got there.

We arrived that morning at their house and made quite an entrance (once everybody recognized who we were!). Everyone was shocked and thrilled to see Mark and give him hugs....and they were thrilled with MeLissa for making it happen - especially on such short notice! We're guessing this will go down in history as one of Mom and Grammy's favorite Mother's Days!

We made good use of our time while we were there. We visited Mom and Dad Rocco's new house in Kula which is still a work in process but is sure to be fabulous. It has some great views for them to enjoy if nothing else! We also were able to take a peak at another almost finished home that has the neatest entry way tile. On our way back to the house, Mark posed for us on the "surf board" road divider - he was one knarly dude! That evening, we enjoyed a Mother's Day feast at the Makawao steak house as well as a visit from a couple of friends - Keola and Angelique.

On Monday, our big adventure involved the beach. First, though, we went to Queen Ka'Ahumanu Center for a a little shopping and to get our wedding rings cleaned. We finally were able to get a duplicate of a little Hawaiian statue Mark's parents had purchased for our wedding reception home safe. This was the third attempt - previous ones by MeLissa's parents and Mark's parents had failed. So, we're thrilled to have it home safe!

Our other finds include MeLissa's favorite glycerine soaps, and a couple of shirts at the Ainokea (pronounced I No K-Uh) shop which is owned by a friend of Mark and Michael. MeLissa's shirt has a definition of the term which we'll try to remember to add to this post when we add the pictures. We also found a cool pair of shades for Grammy and one for MeLissa. Once we'd finished shopping and had enjoyed some lunch, we had a little tour of Grammy's new daytime home and then it was off to the beach!

We went first to Makenna beach to frolic and play in the water and sand with Mark's brother. Michael practiced skimming with his new board which features a picture of the Maui flag - it was custom made just for him. Skimming involves "surfing" on the wet sand and tides as waves come into the beach. Later in the day, we were joined by Mark's parents, Keola and Angelique's son Kye. Once we'd had our fill of fun at Makenna, we packed up our gear, grabbed some snacks and headed over to our favorite beach for a wonderful Maui sunset. This is Ulua Beach and it is the place where Mark proposed at sunrise on July 5, 2003 (We're standing there in our picture above)! A visit to Maui just wouldn't be complete without setting foot on it! For dinner that night, we ate in. Michael grilled some steak and MeLissa made some yummy Mexican Crab and bean dips for everyone to enjoy. Then we enjoyed looking at the stars in the hot tub.

This morning, we headed to Kula Lodge for breakfast and a beautiful view of the Maui coastline. We highly recommend this spot! We enjoyed a short walk in the gardens while we were waiting for our food to be served and then savored every bite! :) MeLissa's only regret is that she couldn't have her favorite - Macadamia Nut Pancakes with coconut syrup. You can eat them for her the next time you go!

Once breakfast was over, we went back to the house to finish packing and enjoyed a quick visit with our friends Betsy and Louis (we were actually engaged on the day of their wedding!). And, then it was off to the airport to catch our plane and return our rental car....

We made it home safely to a neurotic and lonely kitty who will probably drive us crazy for a few days with non-stop meowing - her form of scolding us for leaving her home with "unfresh" food while we enjoy beautiful beaches, great food and more fun that it should be legal to have! We're sure she'll appreciate it that Mark will be home for the next week or so laying face down because it puts him in perfect position to pet her. ;)

Please keep Mark in your thoughts and prayers tomorrow. He goes in for surgery at 9 a.m. PST. It will probably be another 4 to 5 hour surgery. MeLissa's got a stack of wedding and other magazines to keep her company....

This just in:

Avian Flu has hit a trailer park in Florida!



Garden gnomes in the area are now living in fear. ;)

Good Gelato News...

Well, in the ongoing gelato saga here, we've discovered that the gelato did not have eggs in it. Which is good. And, MeLissa partook of some yummy Marscarpone flavor last night to celebrate. The only problem is now we have no idea why she had that horrible reaction. Not good.

For now, we're assuming that the cocoa powder they used in the dark chocolate sorbet had soy in it. It's either that or something to do with dinner. So, MeLissa's going to avoid (for a little while at least) the Chocolate Marzipan flavor. It's also looking like she needs to ditch pineapple again. It seems to have caused a mild reaction this morning. She's thinking maybe she'll just quite trying to reintroduce stuff for a while.

Rethinking Last Night's Gelato Pledge...

MeLissa woke up this morning feeling pretty awful - killer scratchy throat, headache like you wouldn't believe and just utterly feeling "icky." (One of those technical terms Mark's learning in school, we assure you).

So, yeah. She's thinking that the gelato is all Mark's. No matter how good the stuff is, it isn't worth this. And, yet, she's not willing to just give up. Nope. She's emailed the gelateria to see if the stuff does indeed have eggs in it. After all, maybe there was stealth garlic at dinner last night. ;)

A Fun Weekend at "Home"

We had a great weekend! Most of our excitement happened today (Sunday), but we got to sleep in for a while yesterday and that was heavenly! :) We also were able to just spend some time together chatting which is so nice but not a frequent occurence with Mark's busy schedule.

As for today, our activities included running all of our usual errands. This is actually worth mentioning because our trip to the grocery store was very fruitful! MeLissa had seen an orchid called the "pansy" orchid on Martha Stewart's show and had to have one, but alas, all the places she could find them sold them for no less than $50. $50 is a lot for something you might kill. :) She's been faithfully checking the orchids at Trader Joe's when we go grocery shopping and believe it or not, she found one today for $12.99!!! How cool is that? She's so proud of her little orchid...now she just has to keep it alive. And, now she can move on to finding the second one she really really wants which is a Nun's Cap orchid which supposedly smells like roses and is very pretty. She's actually questioning whether she found one today...

After we'd finished our errands and had some lunch we went to see Elias Pereda perform in Newark, California. Elias, as you may remember, is the jazz performer who is helping MeLissa break into the big band scene. The concert was great - lots of Sinatra and other goodies from the golden era. MeLissa's confident that Elias will be making some of her clients very happy at wedding receptions and parties in the future!

Speaking of the band, MeLissa has been given clearance at work to audition and to sing with them for at least a couple of months. This was a bit questionable since they primarily perform and practice on Wednesday afternoons. She's agreed to work a few hours here and there at work to make up for the time she's away. There's only one snag left - Mark's eyes may need another operation (sigh) and that might make it difficult for her to commit at this time. Sooner or later, though, she fully intends to take advantage of this opportunity! We'll know more about the eyes and the band after Mark's doctor appointment on Tuesday.

After the concert, we took a little break from our "date" day and came home to work on Mark's Gynecology paper on....breasts. We're guessing there are a lot of guys out there that are snickering right now (as well as a lot of women rolling their eyes). We have to tell you he didn't pick the topic and it isn't anything titalating (ha! had to throw that in!) at all. In fact, we're thinking since it has some great information, we may just post it here (for a very long read) once it's complete - stay tuned for that.

After a couple of hours of that, we left for our next section of our date - dinner at Ruth's Chris Steakhouse. Good stuff (thanks Mom and Dad Rocco for the celebratory donation) and definitely a good place to go to celebrate. Mark chose the place since we were celebrating his being a smartie and passing his board exams! We enjoyed salad, a porterhouse steak for two, and mushrooms. All were very good. :)

We topped off our dinner with a visit to Gelatoria Naia where we enjoyed a plethora of samples (well, two a piece actually) and then bought 3 pints of gelato - St. Honore, Marscapone and Chocolate Marzipan and a couple of cups (Dark Chocolate and Macadamia Nut for MeLissa/Keoke Coffee and Chocolate Coconut for Mark) for right then and there. If you have a chance to go to Naia (they have several locations in the Bay Area and more coming soon) definitely go, but don't forget your cash because credit and checks receive a cold icy stare. (Not really - they just tell you "Sorry we only take cash"). We still don't get this trend in the Bay Area, but whatever.

Now here's the amusing part about our gelato purchase - we think MeLissa's allergic to it. Oops. Yeah, it kind of slipped our minds that gelato (we think) has eggs in it. She had a heck of a reaction while driving home - what fun! So, we have three pints of itchy scratch gelato and although, perhaps, it's not the smartest thing, MeLissa doesn't care! She's gonna eat that gelato (with Mark's assistance of course) and enjoy it...itchy scratchy skin/eyes/nose, sneezing, almost migraines and all. At least it didn't cause an asthma attack like the carrots. ;) What a rebel she can be! :)

So, other than that, it has been a good week. MeLissa finished another course for her Professional Development Course to become a Professional Bridal Consultant (a trademarked title!) and she also received both her seller's permit and her DBA statement approvals in the mail for her business. She's set up a partnership with a great favor company called Beaucoup and is currently in the process of becoming a dealer for Encore Studios (an invitation manufacturer). She's very excited about these two opportunities. Her logo and website are also on their way in the able hands of a great freelance designer she met through a friend. Great things are happening daily here in Roccoland and now you're up-to-date on them!

Drum Roll Please.....

We have EXCITING news!!! Mark passed his Chiropractic Board Exams!!!! Can we get a woo hoo for our new "Quarter-Doc" (MeLissa's new nickname for him since he's 25% of the way through his boards)?

He did really well and passed every section with flying colors. His best two scores were in General Anatomy and Pathology. Overall, his lowest score was a 421 in Spinal Anatomy. He needed 375 to pass.

We're so VERY happy that he's jumped this hurdle! Go Mark! Go Mark! Go!

We haven't quite decided how we'll celebrate this accomplishment yet, but we're sure we'll think of something. ;)

The next big hurdle - Passing the Clinic Entrance Exam which, for our super savvy doctor-to-be, will be a piece of cake!

Congratulations Mark!

Let's Send a Clear Message

We understand that some people who read our blog may not agree with us politically, but hear us out. If you still don't agree, do nothing, but if you do...then make today National Shopping Day.

That's right friends, we want you all to go out and buy something....anything. Whether it is groceries, that fabulous new pair of spring sling-backs you've been drooling over or an origami book, buy it today. Here's why:

1. The stores should be less crowded making checkout faster.

2. Why put off shopping until tomorrow when you can do it today?

And most important of all...

3. It will send a clear message that our U.S. economy can not be hijacked by a group of people who do not appreciate our values, do not appreciate that it is a priviledge to live and work here...not a right, and who choose not to become Americans through the legal immigration process but wish to enjoy all the benefits without any of the costs.

Let them know that we're not going to sit back idly and let another country's citizens tell us how we should run our country. Whether that country is in the Middle East or South of the Border doesn't really matter to us.

We do want to say, though, that we truly appreciate the contributions that those who come here legally and with good intentions make to our society. They should not be penalized for they have done nothing wrong. They have done what is necessary to become a part of our society and to become Americans - to learn our language, embrace our culture and values, pay taxes and contribute to all that is good about the United States. Embrace them...tell them they are welcome here and that we appreciate the sacrifices they have made, as we all have, for the good of our country and the world.

Please do a bit of shopping today. It would be preferrable if you could make your purchase at a business that is not well-known for hiring illegal immigrants - we need to send a message to these businesses that we don't appreciate their attempts to undermine our laws and to encourage illegal activity. MeLissa will be making a short trip to Borders at lunch to stock up on origami and wedding style books.

We hope you and your friends and family will join us in celebrating National Shopping Day!