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!

Come Fly With Me!

So, we have some pretty exciting news in our little corner of the world! MeLissa has been offered an exciting opportunity to audition with the USS Hornet Big Band as its lead female vocalist. Now wouldn't that be something if she had a successful audition?!

This opportunity flowed out of a recent contact MeLissa made with Mr. Elias Pereda, a talented vocal artist, whom she and Mark met at one of Mark's eye appointments. Mr. Pereda also performs in this band and put in a good word for MeLissa with the conductor. She's really excited about this new opportunity as well as the opportunity to work with Mr. Pereda in the future as she plans her clients' weddings and events.

We promise to keep you updated so that you can come see her perform if everything works out!

Want A Free Website?

We thought some of you might like this little tip! If you sign up now at www.officelive.com, you can put up a business or personal website with a "normal" domain name for free. MeLissa took advantage of this offer yesterday and so we'll soon have another site where we're thinking we'll post additional pictures from our adventures and maybe tell a few silly stories or something. We're still thinking about it.

At any rate, we thought we'd pass along the tip and should you want to take a quick peak at our "vacation home" on the web, www.mark-n-melissa.com is the direct entryway to Roccoland. Come one, come all...but don't expect much - yet! :)

A Taxing Day in San Francisco....

Well, sort of. MeLissa had a class there yesterday on how to use a program that her company will be using to e-file their tax return. All corporations are required to e-file this year and it's causing quite a stir...it doens't help that the IRS can't seem to make up it's mind on how it wants things in many cases.

Mark was also in the city yesterday (and Thursday and even today and tomorrow!) for a class. He's learning the Active Release Technique - a wonderfully effective tissue torture method that has been great for MeLissa. :)

After our classes were let out, we met up at the Gap on Powell and Market streets. MeLissa brought a new friend, Sara, along with her. Sara was in MeLissa's class and was visiting from Minnesota. She was going to be staying in the city that evening so MeLissa asked if she'd like to join in on the latest MeLissa and Mark adventure. She accepted and her presence was an added joy to the evening.

While waiting for Mark, MeLissa and Sara took a short walk down to Union Square. They located the large Williams-Sonoma store there and, against better judgement went inside! Naturally, MeLissa found something she couldn't live without - some adorable spring cookie cutters - there's a butterfly, a frog, a lady bug, a snail and a dragon fly in the set...all adorable!

Once Mark joined us, we ventured across the street to the San Francisco Shopping Center to show Sara the fun escalators. Yeah, this seems rather boring, but it's kind of a cool experience when you first see them (and after a seminar on taxation everything seems so much more amusing!). We rode the escalators up to the very top floor so Sara could enjoy looking down on the "ant people."

After this, we walked over to the Metreon where we introduced Sara to Virtual Bowling. We love virtual bowling! She did, too...and got the hang of it pretty quick. The only "bummer" about the experience was that Mark couldn't really see well enough to play (kind of sad because it shows his vision isn't what it once was), but we "made lemonade" and found a thrilling solution! He and MeLissa played his turns together. He'd use one hand and she used one hand and together they knocked down some pins - what a fun bonding experience! :)

After burning some calories, we were finally ready for dinner. We decided to try one of the restaurants in the Metreon - LJ's Martini Bar. We made an excellent choice! Besides having very tasty food (and lots of martinis which we decided to abstain from since they tend to make MeLissa ill), there was a live jazz band! What a treat to eat an excellent meal with good company, great ambiance and great music. We'll probably treat ourselves to that experience again!

After dinner, we walked Sara to her room and then headed home!

One Year Anniversary....

No, not our wedding anniversary! You mean you've forgotten already that it is on July 31? ;) If so, we'll give you a little hint - there is a count down timer at the bottom of our webpage! Feel free to cheat as much as needed (of course, to do so, you probably need to do some math or have a calendar nearby)!

Today is the one year anniversary of Mark's first retinal eye surgery. On this day in 2005, MeLissa was a bit of a basket case. She wasn't used to this eye surgery "thing" like Mark sort of is. She was scared that the doctors wouldn't be able to help, but she was praying non-stop that they would. She was reminded in the hospital waiting room that day as she conversed with a mother and daughter who were patiently waiting to hear about their husband/father who was having a cancerous tumor removed, that no matter how bleak it seems, there is always someone with worse problems/concerns to deal with.

She forgets this sometimes...not because she doesn't care about anybody except herself, but because she's human. Humans sometimes get caught up in their own drama and forget that there is a whole world out there dealing with drama, too. :) In MeLissa's case, there were some other factors that contributed to this inward view. She's so proud to say that this year, she's made great strides in focusing on others' issues. She's still not perfect, but at least she's grown. :)

Based upon some news we had the other day at Mark's eye doctor appointment, our year-long battle with detached retinas may not yet be over. It appears that a portion of Mark's retina in his right eye (the one that just had the oil removed and that we were hoping would be out of the woods) is slightly detached. The doctor is hopeful that it will not detach further, but if so, it will be back to the operating room for Mark. We are thankful that we have excellent health insurance coverage...we'll make sure to maintain it if MeLissa decides to pursue her wedding and event business full-time.

Speaking of the business, MeLissa received her temporary business cards yesterday. They're quite attractive - pink with a green border and should make an excellent first impression on her guests! She's also been speaking to many graphic and web design folks and hopes to have her print and web plans squared away very soon!

We hope you'll continue to keep Mark in your prayers. He's really been through enough at this point (we both have!) and could use a little respite from surgeries, doctor visits and the added challenges these bring to his educational pursuits (which are going very well!). MeLissa is so very proud of him for being so strong-willed and not letting any of this get him down. And, we're both thankful for the opportunities these struggles have given us to strengthen our bond and craft a marriage and relationship that is sure to stand the test of time. Thank you all for being there for us during this time! :)

Pucker Up, Sweetie!!!

Well, nothing too terribly exciting has been going on with us over the past couple of days. We were heathens for Easter since we're still just not ready to try another church out here....we may never be. That aside, we have been busy.

MeLissa put together her Ikea purchase this past weekend and stocked it full of craft, quilting and other goodies. The guest room looks so much more organized. She also completed the first of a series of courses to attain the status of Professional Bridal Consultant through the Association of Bridal Consultants. Finally, she finished her "mock" website for Winsome Events. It's listed on Google if you're curious, but it's nothing too exciting since MeLissa basically just wanted to have a place to see where the text she'd written would best fit. It's pretty good stuff, we've heard. She's getting close to finding the right web and logo designer and should have an official site soon!

Mark has been busy with classes and shadowing current clinic interns at his chiropractic college. MeLissa loves that he's shaving almost every day and dressing up in professional clothes (business casual suits Mark to a T).

And that brings us to our amusing story of the day which involves Mark and Kumquats -those little baby orange lookin' things. At the grocery store, this past weekend, dear Mark discovered them and was intrigued. MeLissa, who was familiar with the Kumquat, cautioned that she didn't really care for them...and didn't think he'd like them much either, but he just *had* to try them. So, we brought the little cuties (for they are cute even if they taste awful) home and this morning, Mark gave them a sample. If we had only taped his reaction...we don't think he'll be purchasing kumquats again. He was puckering and looking as he would say in pigeon all "fa faced." It was pretty amusing. The moral of this story is...cute fruits and vegetables don't necessarily taste good.

Enjoy your Tuesday!

P.S. Today is Uncle Max's birthday so here's a Happy Day wish to him. Is it a coincidence that his birthday falls on the anniversary of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake? We don't think so. He's a sweetie! Please keep us all in your prayers regarding those earth shakes. They scare MeLissa silly and she'd like to get out of California before the next big one hits!

Happy Easter!

We hope everyone is having a wonderful Easter! We ran across a site where you can see baby Bald Eagles hatch and then be cared for by their parents. Pretty neat stuff - right up there with the PG&E Falcon camera. Click the link above for a peek!

Hands-On Training Here She Comes!

Today's post will be primarily about MeLissa, but hang on until the end because we have a fun message for you!

MeLissa had some wonderful news today. There was a misunderstanding recently with her wedding and event planning educational institution regarding whether or not she could actually do her hands-on training. Today,though, the misunderstanding was rectified and so, MeLissa will be receiving her first assignment within the next month! She is very excited!

She is also excited because her wonderful mentor, Helen, generously offered to provide additional training if MeLissa was willing to come to Richmond, Virginia, through her consulting firm. MeLissa is excited to take advantage of this opportunity as well where she will shadow Helen on the day of an event and make sure that a lucky couple has the day of their dreams!

MeLissa has been busy lately with interviewing graphic and website designers to determine which of them will be able to help her create a logo, stationary and website for Winsome Events. She's received a few quotes and is just waiting for a few more to come in before she decides who she'll ultimately go with. At this point, there is a clear winner (a company in the Bay Area), but as she receives more information, this may change!

We don't have a lot planned for this weekend. We're going to put the Ikea storage shelves we purchased last weekend together and then we'll see if we can arrange everything and make the guest room look pleasant.

We'll also be looking for little bunnies like this one who is here to wish you all a Very Happy Easter! Perhaps we'll have to see if we can find some bunny ears for Miss Pixie.


















This picture was taken from here

Minimal but High Quality Excitement.

Other than things related to MeLissa's new business venture, Winsome Events, which we'll touch on toward the end of this post, there isn't a lot of excitement to speak of in the Rocco household.

Mark is on track to finish up his previous quarter - just one more test on Wednesday. He was able to get one grade that was below passing changed to passing once discussing it with his instructor. Apparently, most of the test questions he missed on the final were things that he wouldn't have known since he isn't required to take the x-ray lab class. So that was definitely a highlight of our week. Mark is currently enjoying tagging along some of the school's current interns in preparation for his shot at entering the clinic next quarter - can you believe he's already so close to treating patients? Wow!

We also made our follow up trip to Ikea with our buddies Lisa and Rob. We enjoyed lunch at Red Robin first where MeLissa attempted to reintroduce onions into her diet. They failed with flying colors which wasn't a huge surprise... We picked up the storage solution we'd picked out at Ikea previously as well as some very nice tealight holders MeLissa thinks will make excellent table decorations for either our parties or one of her clients' when the business is up and running.

So, speaking of the business, MeLissa has created another blog where she plans to keep people updated (once she's up and running) about the weddings and events she's planned as well as provide answers to questions regarding weddings and events. She also plans to give information about weddings, consulting services and products that she comes across that she believes would make a real statement at your events (or to help you preserve your memories after in the case of her first recommendation). She's currently writing short articles regarding the myths surrounding wedding and event consultants which you might find interesting. She'd love it if you'd stop by and ask her a question at the Winsome Events Blog.

In other news, she's been actively searching for just the right company/person to create her logo, stationary and website and so far, she has some good prospects. One in particular is right in line with her budget and offers all these services for a reasonable investment. She's been busily writing the text for her site and is really pleased with how it is going so far. We'll let you know once it is up and running.

Mendocino Madness...

We just returned from our latest adventure to Mendocino on the Northern Coast of California. Technically, we stayed in Elk, California...a mighty metropolis of 250 people! There's not a whole lot going on in Elk, folks, but that is exactly what we needed. Here's the detail of our adventure:

We started out on Thursday morning *after* doing something which MeLissa is terribly excited about! She is now, officially, the proud owner of a business! Yes, she obtained her business license for her wedding and event coordination business that morning! Since she also reserved the website address last night, we're pleased to announce that Winsome Events will soon be open for business! MeLissa was pretty giddy on the drive to our destination because it just felt so cool to say she now owns her own business. :)

At any rate, on our way up to Elk, we fell victim to sometimes confusing road signage and exited when we shouldn't have. We decided to ask directions (which is a big thing - MeLissa *hates* asking for directions! And, yes, you read that right - MeLissa not Mark has an "issue" with asking for directions - you've always known we were a unique couple!) We discovered that we had exited to soon, but that there was a lovely scenic drive if we just kept going on the road we were travelling on. Since our kind direction guy indicated that the drive wasn't too much longer than heading back to the 101, we decided to be rebels and take the backroads so that we could experience the breath-taking views it was supposed to provide. Um, not so much as you can see from the pictures here, but we did get to see a vulture eating what appeared to be a dead cow (we didn't get close enough to verify this). Sorry for the blurriness of the photo, but you get the idea (or you will if you click on it - it's a wee bit small).

At any rate, we finally made it out of the foresty area (after what seemed like 3 or 4 hours - way longer than the 101 route!) and found "civilization." Well, sort of, there were a lot of teensy weensy albeit charming towns. In one, Point Arena, we stopped to see the lighthouse and snap a couple of pictures.

We continued on down the road to Elk where our first night's room was waiting at the Griffin House. We stayed in the Gunderson room. It had a charming wood fireplace that we enjoyed very much. This was our "reasonable" room for the weekend, and for the price, it was a nice room. It was nice, too, that it didn't have a TV and our cell phones could not get a signal. It was a great way to force us to relax! This is definitley a benefit of Elk, in general!

We should mention that we truly appreciated the innkeepers' efforts to ensure that MeLissa could actually eat something for breakfast (which they deliver to the room each morning!). That evening, for dinner, we ventured to the Little River Inn where we enjoyed a lovely dining experience. Our server and the manager of the restaurant, took great care to ensure that MeLissa's food was allergy-free as well - we noted that they really are customer-service oriented in this region of California. It was a great meal - MeLissa still thinks of the brussels sprouts she had - they were the tastiest she's had in her lifetime (yes, she actually likes brussels sprouts) and they had the most mellow balsamic vinegar she's ever had also.

The next morning, we had our breakfast and then packed up the car and headed to Mendocino where we hoped to see a whale. We didn't have much luck, but we did catch a glimpse of this adorable seagull (yes, it's the requisite bird picture, folks...you will get used to them!). We also saw (in our rearview mirror) a couple of lovebirds! We even saw an elk (the only elk we saw during our entire trip, in fact!) that looked very much like our dear Mark. This elk came with us to lunch in Ft. Bragg!

We headed back that evening to Elk to check into our posh second room at The Elk Cove Inn & Spa. We madea quick stop at Navarro Point to catch a picture of the sun shining on the water and Mark doing his best J Crew (per Mark) pose.

We were in the lap of luxury in our second room, the Lumbar Baron's room where we slept in the bed that the lumbar company executives would stay in when they came to Elk. Outside of our room was this gorgeous calla lily which MeLissa just had to take a snap shot of.

We took a stroll to the beach to catch some sunset views before returning to the inn for a fabulous dinner which we're still dreaming about at night! Here are a few of the views we

captured:

And here is a view of MeLissa demonstrating the Karate Kid Crane at Mark's request (we couldn't let him have all the silly pictures after all!):

We even have another picture of those lovebirds (and in this one you can kinda sorta see Mark's pupil in his right eye (which is on your left!):

Our dinner was absolutely fabulous! We so highly recommend this inn's restaurant. Not only did they work around MeLissa's allergies, but they did it with flair. We enjoyed an appetizer of shrimp wrapped in prosciutto followed by dinner salads in the best seat in the house. Then, Mark enjoyed sea bass with a cajun creole sauce and these absolutely wonderful polenta frites (which MeLissa has determined to replicate in an allergy free way at home) and MeLissa enjoyed a tender filet mignon with freshly sauteed spinach, these to-die-for mushrooms and smoky baby artichokes. We didn't leave anything on our plates! We finished up with pineapple sorbet for MeLissa and Bailey's Irish Cream ice cream for Mark - both were yummy! Back in our room, we enjoyed a taste of port with chocolates - it was good, but Mark thinks he'll stick with just the chocolate by itself. :) MeLissa also snapped a shot of the shell pendants she'd found in Ft. Bragg at a shell shop for $2 each - what a steal!

The next morning, we enjoyed breakfast with the birdies (sorry! no pictures - the camera was in our room!) in the inn's restaurant. We enjoyed a lot of things, but the oatmeal with chocolate chips was MeLissa's favorite...until her gamble with not asking about the chocolate backfired. It apparently had soy in it. Oops. At least it was worth the slightly "out of it" feeling that ensued. :) We packed up and started for home. On our way, we visited a rock shop where we found many treasures (MeLissa purchased her jewelry quota for the year) and a redwood forest where we snapped some shots of the wildlife that was around and some pretty lovely clover patches - just the thing to make an Irish girl feel welcome! After this adventure, we headed home, but we made sure to stop at the snoopy store in Santa Rosa (across from the Charles Schulz Museum) where we picked up some more "loot."
We returned home to a very needy kitty who has been whining and acting neurotic pretty much non-stop. We figure Pixie will calm down in a couple of days when she figures out we're not going anywhere for too long for a while. Until then, we're not guessing we'll be getting too much sleep around here. So much for the lasting effects of our vacation!

Bloglines - An Awesome Tool!!!

MeLissa found an awesome tool for those who want to keep up with what we're up to today! Rather than having to check periodically to see if we've posted something, wouldn't it be nice to just be notified that we have? Look now further...

MeLissa has discovered a service called Bloglines. This site is AWESOME. Now, instead of having to click on her favorite blogs several times every day to see if somene has posted some wonderful words of wisdom or hilarity, she simply goes into her bloglines account and it shows her who has posted since she last checked. She can even set up a notification service on her desktop!

Then, she can read all of the posts from her favorite blogs right there in bloglines! It seems that she'll still have to visit their sites when she wishes to comment on something, but at least this will cut down on some of her mindless surfing at work to just see if there's new "stuff" to be read! It's easy to set up an account and add your favorite blogs - MeLissa especially likes the fact that she can visit a blog and add it to her subscription list with a link in her favorites.

We hope you'll all sign up and add our site so you can keep up to date on our posts!

Our Weekend....

We had a pretty nice weekend! Mark has bounced back pretty quickly from this last surgery (not having to be face-down all the time probably helps!) and so we were able to do a little more than hang around the house (though, we did plenty of that as well!).

Here's a quick run down of our weekend activities:

1. We went to Ikea. We try to avoid Ikea as much as possible because it is just a bit too crazy for our liking, but we need something to organize and store all of MeLissa's craft, quilting and entertaining supplies and Ikea has a lot of affordable options so off we went. By the end of our shopping expedition, we had found what we were looking for, but MeLissa was feeling kind of "out of it" (one of the many reasons we tend to avoid Ikea!) and Mark isn't supposed to be lifting anything heavy so we'll have to return at some other time to pick it up.

2. We watched a lot of X-files episodes. We enjoyed just sitting together and being couch potatoes on a few occasions this weekend. We're about finished with season 3 and then we'll move on to season 4. We haven't been watching these things in order so we'll have watched all the episodes by the time we finish seaon 4. Crazy wacky stuff.

Aside from these things, MeLissa worked on our taxes (which are pretty much done and just need to be filed.) and finished up her Event Planning course. She passed her final exam with flying colors! Now it is on to a real world training experience where she will help someone plan their very special event on a pro bono basis. Once she's completed this task, she'll be one step closer to opening her own wedding coordination business in July 2006 (Yes, we have a tentative date!). With any luck, MeLissa will have time this week to go pick up her business license...

If you know any good graphic designers who can help her with her logo and website design, please let us know! :)

Erin's Favorite Chocolate Cake

We thought everyone might enjoy this recipe which MeLissa's Nest Friend, Erin, graciously shared with us:

Erin's All-Time Favorite Chocolate Cake
aka “Dad's (Erin's) Favorite Chocolate Cake”

3 C. flour
2 C. sugar
6 tbsp. cocoa powder
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
3/4 C. oil (vegetable)
2 tbsp. vinegar
2 tsp. vanilla
2 C. water

Preheat oven to 350. Grease and flour cake pan. Put dry ingredients into mixing bowl and combine. Add: oil, vinegar, vanilla and water. Beat till smooth and pour into pan. Bake in preheated oven for 25-30 minutes. Cool and frost.

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And, now, for the "silly goose" part. MeLissa's mom called today and mentioned that she saw Erin's promise of an eggless chocolate cake recipe and told MeLissa it sounded like her Grandmother Naomi's Wacky Cake recipe. So, erhem, yeah, MeLissa has had an egg free recipe all this time...and simply didn't remember it! The Wacky Cake recipe in MeLissa's stash is essentially a mirror image of Erin's cut in half. *sigh* At least we've finally been enlightened!

Very Cool Stuff....

So, we visited Mark's doctor today for his post-op appointment. Looks like everything went very well. The coolest thing, though, is Mark actually has a pupil in his right eye now! It looks pretty neat! It is from the hole that the doctor put in the membrane that formed behind his eye. So, it is all very encouraging. If possible, once Mark has recovered and is a little less sensitive to light, we'll try to get a picture so you can see how his right eye looks now.

Of course, Mark has already determined that this is great material to tease classmates (and whomever else) that he has one cyborg eye now. He's such a silly goose that you just can't help but adore him....

Good News!

For those of you sitting on the edge of your seat wondering how Mark's surgery went - according to the doctor it went very well!

His retina is still attached (Praise the Lord!) which is super since that means it's not detached in about 9 months! Woo hoo!

So anyhow, the doctor took out the silicon oil in the back of his eye and then cut a hole with the laser through a membrane that had grown in the front part of the eye. This will serve as an artificial iris for Mark - regulating the amount of light that goes into the eye. He then put a shot of steroids in Mark's eye to discourage the membrane from growing back in. Thank you all for your prayers - please keep praying that everything heals up nicely. :)

Oh, and the best thing about how things went today? Mark gets to sleep face up. He just has to use a couple of pillows. This is way better than face down, don't you think?

In other news, Pixie has adopted a new hobby. She's decided that it is tons of fun to pull our dirty laundry (primarily socks, but there have been underthings and even a pair of pants!) from our room into the living room. We believe this confirms that she's neurotic which is good because so are we! ;) At any rate, should any of you come to visit us and see Pixie's handy work (which is bound to happen unless we remember to shut the bedroom door!), please forgive us...and her!

Chocolate, Apple Cider and Friends...

So, yesterday, we went to the city for MeLissa's chiropractic appointment. Everything went pretty well....and given the small quake we had today, that's probably a very good thing! :) She felt a little queasy after the rockin' and rollin' but nothing terribly bad.

Anyhow, all that aside, once we got me straightened out (ha!), we passed some time looking in Williams-Sonoma in the Embarcadero Center. While there, we found a great book on making chocolates. MeLissa is looking forward to trying it out!

After shopping, we went to visit our friend Alisa at her hotel. She's been in town for a convention for Pharmacists and Pharmacy students. Alisa, her classmate/friend, Denise and we ventured to Starbucks where we enjoyed each other's company. MeLissa enjoyed a fabulous apple cider drink with whipped cream (we thought it was crazy, too!) and caramel in it. After our brief interlude, Alisa and Denise went to their evening function and we headed home. :)

A calm, but enjoyable venture....

Wait and See...

Well, Mark finished his tests around 4 p.m. yesterday afternoon. He's not feeling real confident that he even passed 4 (which would mean, if he didn't pass all the sections, he'd only have to retake those he didn't pass). MeLissa reminded him this morning that not everybody can tell when they've passed a test and with that wretched scoring system that we keep referring to, anything is possible so we're keeping our fingers and toes crossed. We should receive the testing results in a couple of months and we'll of course let you know what the final verdict is!

Mark now is fully focused on passing his final exams. Due to surgery, he's taking incompletes on two of them. He has two tests today, one tomorrow and then it's time for surgery.

MeLissa spent her weekend attending a little baby shower for a friend and doing other things around the house including making a rather interesting ice cream flavor. Ever have raspberry with a hint of chocolate? It makes a great ice cream flavor. :)

Finally, we thought we'd pass a little tip on to anyone who is interested. We've heard a couple of people mention that they'd like to learn a little more about HTML. Now, MeLissa is by *no* means, an HTML guru at this point, but she's definitely learned enough to be dangerous. Some of what she learned was through trial an error, but she's recently found a really great resource. If you, too, want a little more HTML experience, have a look at W3 Schools. They have really helpful tutorials in HTML (including an awesome color list!) and other "stuff" like SQL which MeLissa is trying to figure out for her job (and let us say she totally is not happy about that one!). Happy learning...

Pray! Pray! Pray!!!

So, Mark completed two of his tests today - General Anatomy and Spinal Anatomy. His assessment of his testing success is that he aced General and probably failed Spinal, but given that whole curving thing, maybe he didn't do as poorly on Spinal Anatomy as he thinks.

At any rate, he has four more tests tomorrow. Please keep him in your prayers! He works so hard it would be nice if he could just pass the first time! We won't actually know his "official" scores for a bit longer, though.

We'll keep you posted.

Test Day!!

Today is the big day!! Mark will start his first big board test a little after noon! Keep your fingers crossed that he at least passes 4 sections (we'd prefer he pass them all, but we don't want to be greedy!) because then he will at least not have to take the whole thing over. We're hoping that the bizarre grading method they use will be to his advantage rather than his disadvantage.

A short overview of that grading is that they throw out all the questions that everyone gets wrong (sounds good, doesn't it?!?) and all the questions that everyone gets right (that pretty much sucks, eh?!?) and then they take the top person's score and curve it based on that from our understanding so hopefully Mark will know a lot of things that some other people don't!

In other news, MeLissa's started work on another baby blankie...and we're not telling who this one is for either. It is a lovely mint green in the same pattern as the recent patriotic offering. This and finishing up last week's quilt block (as well as the standard weekend errands) should keep her occupied during Mark's testing period. MeLissa also is going to a baby shower for one of her former coworkers and hopes to catch a glimpse of her buddy Alisa who is visiting San Francisco as well.

A Momentous Occasion!!!

Today is a pretty special day and this is a pretty special post - it is our 100th!! How exciting, huh?

Not too much to speak of other than the fact that Mark begins his board exams tomorrow at noon, but there's still reason to celebrate! Yes, dear friends, today is a day that makes MeLissa's hair seem redder and her heart turn green! Well, maybe that's exaggerating a little, but as a primarily Irish Lass, she wants to wish you a very

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!!

Hope you're all wearing your green! We're thinking lucky Irish thoughts and sending them your way!! :)

MeLissa is a dork.

Jumping out of 3rd person for a bit - you know, I may even give this whole "make it sound like a storybook" thing up sooner or later). Anybody want to voice an opinion on that? I actually have to concentrate pretty hard to say stuff like "MeLissa is such a dork she started typing the entry about our weekend on Monday but decided to give Pixie the full spotlight so she held it until yesterday, but then forgot to change the date so it actually showed up before Pixie's post and so she wished her mom a happy birthday on the wrong day - sort of." Seriously, it gets a bit tedious at times. But, I keep at it...and wonder if the world thinks I'm a dork.

So, anyhow, the purpose of this whole message was to clear up the fact that yes, I made a mistake and I posted birthday wishes for my mom as of 3/12. Her birthday was yesterday (i.e., March 14).

To make this worth reading, I was just posting a comment on a friend's blog (Hi Kat!) and mentioned one of the sweet things Mark does for me. Since I'm jumping out of 3rd person today, let me just say that it is the sweetest thing. Every night (well, there are a few exceptions but *very* few), my dear Mark brings me 2 squares of chocolate to enjoy. It's become one of the little traditions we enjoy in our household. Perhaps I'll think about more of these things and then share them here...stay tuned for that!

Happy Birthday, Mom! (and All About the Weekend)

First of all, here's a big Happy Birthday wish to MeLissa's mom. We hope she has a year full of happiness, health, and God-willing, wealth! :)

Now....on to the weekend wrap-up:

As we mentioned previously, we had a rather busy weekend! We started out on Friday night with a little informal (but fun!) birthday celebration for our friend Lisa who is still enjoying the ripe old age of 25 (and hopefully will for many more years)! MeLissa made some virgin margaritas to celebrate the occasion (and to try out our new spiffy blender!) and we enjoyed a tasty meal from O'Hana Hawaiian grill.

After dinner we chatted and let Lisa open her birthday presents - she loved them all! :) And, of course, we had some pretty yummy strawberry ice cream (homemade!) to celebrate - we didn't feel like trying for another "caketastrophe" so ice cream's the deal around here for birthdays until Martha Stewart comes to the rescue (seriously, we've written to see if she can come up with a suitable eggless recipe).

On Saturday, MeLissa finished up the baby blanket she made for a friend's little one and we'll be mailing it out (hopefully) this week. We hope they find it helpful in keeping the little tyke warm! Meanwhile, Mark studied....and studied....and studied some more. His board exam is next weekend so he's pretty much spending all his "free" time with his nose in a book!

MeLissa also spent some time quilting Saturday and Sunday. She's actually close to finishing the Drunkard's Path block. She just has 3 seams to go...but due to Sunday's activities taking precedence (and a little project for Mark which we'll discuss shortly), she expects to finish it later during the week. So far, the block is looking very bright and cheery!

Instead of finishing her block, she and Mark spent a fair amount of time on Sunday recording a video (which MeLissa will try to piece together over the next few days) for Mark's physical therapy class on various excercises, stretches and assessment techniques for those who sit behind desks all day to fix them right up when they start having problems. Apparently this malady is referred to as "Upper Cross Syndrome" in chiropractic circles. MeLissa is now privvy to the why it is Mark keeps making her do all these exercises and stretches she isn't terribly fond of. :)

Finally, we wrapped the weekend up by doing a little experimental cookin'. This week's foray was into the realm of bread making...specifically, spelt bread. MeLissa decided to try because she was craving a hamburger and really wanted to have it on a hamburger buns. Since she can't buy hamburger buns that she can actually eat, she decided to make her own. All things considered, they turned out pretty decent and worked well for last night's dinner, but we do have a couple of modifications in mind for the next attempt! Alternatively, MeLissa may start using a little low-carb eating trick and just ditch the bun since she's pretty picky - two lettuce leaves seemed to work pretty well at the hospital cafeteria the last time Mark had surgery. As for the bread itself, it also turned out pretty decent, however, due to a good portion of the batter going to the buns, it was pretty flat. Mark was certainly grumbling about his "toast sticks" while eating breakfast this morning.

MeLissa also did some grumbling because it appears that one of her favorite foods is just not going to cooperate. Unfortunately, there don't appear to be any pictures of evil pineapples. What a shame. At any rate, this pretty much leaves us at a 100% fail rate as far as MeLissa's food reintroduction attempts. We may give the pineapple one more chance later today, but we're not terribly hopeful...

Happy Birthday, Miss Pixie!!!

Today is our little Pixie Cat's Birthday! She's a spry 2 years old...and looking just as cute as when she was a kitten.

In other news, we had a pretty busy weekend, but we're letting Pixie have her spotlight so we'll get more into that later! Besides, posts with pictures are much more fun and the pictures we have for you aren't accessible at this very moment!

Evil Carrots....

What? You didn't know that carrots were evil? Well, we have verified it. Last night we tried to reintroduce them into MeLissa's diet and man was that a mistake.

The first sign that there was probably a problem should have been that when MeLissa tried them alone, they didn't taste nearly as good as she remembers them tasting. We later determined, though that it was because we didn't have onions cooking with them in the roast pot. So, she persisted, ate a few more with dinner and went about the rest of the evening's activities (which included finishing the stitching on the blankie, though, we're now at the point of yarn weaving which always seems to take much too long!).

About 2 hours after dinner, MeLissa all of the sudden started experiencing the following:

very scratchy throat

very scratchy nose

very scratchy ears (inside)

Shortly thereafter, she began having trouble breathing (her first asthma attack for a couple of months!) and developed a killer headache (which, incidentally is still with her this morning - doh!). So, we think it's pretty safe to say that carrots will be added to the long list (potatoes, tomatoes, avocados) of foods tha we tried to add back in and that just didn't want to cooperate. We're debating whether pineapple or green pepper will be the next lucky food...

In other news, while looking at quilting sites of all things (found some great resources for free patterns, friends - if you're interested, shoot us an email), MeLissa came across a site which is the polar opposite of every other e-greeting site you have seen. We think we'll call it the "Anti-greeting" site. Here, you can send "Resentiments" to those who've broken your heart, been lousy friends, etc. We will warn you that many of the cards use less than sophisticated language, but they were kind of funny so we figured we'd pass them along. Please don't send them to us. :)

Please Sir, May I Have Another?

So, apparently, Mark's surgeon (and Mark) felt that the operation on his left eye the other day to remove the silicon oil and repair his retina were so much fun they want to go and do it again in a couple of weeks to the right eye! How exciting! :)

Well, okay, actually the real reason is that it is past time. We were supposed to have had the oil removed from the right eye in January, but due to the left eye not behaving so well, it was postponed. Now, though, the doctor is having a difficult time seeing in Mark's eye and so he's unable to really see if everything is behaving and what not so it's time. That coupled with the fact that Mark has a break the last week of March led to the surgery being tentatively scheduled for March 22. Keep him in your prayers, please.

At least with this timing, he shouldn't have to miss too much school for his next quarter, but he will probably have to retake or at least take an incomplete on a few classes from this quarter...which is fine - it just means he'll be even more prepared when he takes his next board exam, right?

Speaking of board exams, Mark will be taking his first round on March 18 and 19. Last night, we did a little practice exam and it was really hard (even though it was the exam Mark figured he was the most prepared for!) so now we're both a bit scared for him. At least if he doesn't pass this time, he can always retake it, but please pray that he's a first timer! :)

As for MeLissa, nothing nearly as exciting. She has 5 rows left of the little blankie she's been crocheting. That's pretty exciting! She also joined a quilting site last night that has quilting lessons over the internet. She's looking forward to seeing how a different teacher does things as well in getting copies of all the nifty patterns that the site gives out for free. Total cost of membership...$15. Having an invaluable quilting resource available 24/7 and getting a lot of cute patterns for free...priceless. The site is called Victoriana Quilt Designs if you're interested in checking them out. They do have a free block pattern every month as well as a wealth of free quilt information suitable for beginners on up.

Crazy Scientific Facts About Love

Here's an interesting article detailing various scientific findings about love we thought you'd find amusing - we've linked it above as well.

Love: 10 crazy scientific facts
By Laura Schaefer

1. It’s like looking in a mirror! It turns out we all have a little something in common with Narcissus—the mythical fellow who fell in love with his own reflection. Scientists at the University of Liverpool recently concluded that our brains favor people with familiar faces. The research team asked over 200 participants to view a number of digitally altered human faces. They found that subjects preferred the features they found the most familiar—whether that means his or her own visage or that of a family member. This may explain that common phenomenon of couples looking like they could be siblings.

2. Manner, schmanners: Go ahead and stare. Another new study says that when a woman walks into a room, she is considered more attractive if she turns her eyes directly toward a certain man. Men would rate the same woman as less desirable if she doesn’t make strong eye contact. In this study, conducted at Dartmouth University, lead researcher Malia Mason had male participants sit and view a series of faces of fashion models, digitally enhanced to either be gazing toward or away from the participant. The study authors asked the viewer to rate the likeability of each model and found that those who turned away were seen as less agreeable. The study’s researchers went on to suggest that a woman’s gaze can be a powerful arousal cue and that our impressions are largely formed by nonverbal communications such as eye contact. So start locking eyes, ladies!

3. You’ll know it when you see it. A recent study at the University of Pennsylvania reveals that regardless of what people say they are looking for in a dating situation, they don’t need a lot of time with or information about a person to tell if they’re interested. Single people’s behavior suggests that individuals know “it” (a person who appeals to them) when they see it—almost instantly. Lead researcher Robert Kurzban and his colleagues studied data from 10,000+ daters. They found that men and women assessed potential compatibility within moments of meeting, using primarily visual cues such as age, height, and attractiveness. Says Kurzban, “Somewhat surprisingly, factors that you might think would be really important to people — like religion, education, and income — played very little roles in their choices.”

4. Listen up. The next time you call up a potential love match, pay special attention to how they sound. Researchers at the University of Albany had 149 men and women rate the attractiveness of a series of recorded voices on a scale from 1 to 10. The researchers also gathered information about the sexual histories of the people whose voices they recorded. They found that the voices found to be the most appealing belonged to people who had sex at an earlier age, had more sexual partners, and were more prone to infidelity than those rated as having less appealing voices. So know that what’s a seductive voice to you may be linked to a person with a bit of a past…

5. I couldn’t help it baby, it’s in my genes. There may be a genetic component to infidelity, says a professor at the Twin Research Unit at St. Thomas’ Hospital, London. This is based on the fact that if one twin exhibits infidelity, the other twin strays 55% of the time. In the general population, the number is 23%. The tendency to remain faithful is a component of personality, the scientist elaborates, which is governed both by a number of genes and societal factors.

6. It’s official. Love makes us crazy. For one, it causes serotonin levels in the brain to drop, which may lead people to obsess about their lover. (The levels of serotonin, a chemical produced by the body, are also low in people who have obsessive-compulsive disorder.) Next, it ramps up production of the stress hormone cortisol, leading to slightly higher blood pressure and possible loss of sleep. Finally, a scientist at the University of London has found that when people look at their new loves, the neural circuits that are usually in charge of social judgment are suppressed. All in all, love kind of leaves you obsessive, stressed, and blind. And we love it.

7. Why broken hearts hurt... A recent UCLA study suggests the psychological hurt of a break-up is just as real as a physical injury. Two areas of the brain that respond to physical pain also become activated when a person is dealing with social pain, such as being dumped. The study’s authors used an MRI to monitor brain activity in participants while they played a game simulating social rejection. The researchers believe that the pain of being rejected may have evolved as a motivating force that led humans to seek out social interaction, which is crucial for the survival of most mammals.

8. Blushing is best. If we take our cue from apes, rosy cheeks are crucial in the dating game, says a new study. Scientists at Stirling University in Great Britain have found that primates prefer mates with red faces. A rosy glow might also act as a similar cue in humans, say the British researchers, sending a message of good health. They speculate that it could explain why women use blusher.

9. Kiss this way. Did you know there is a “right” way to kiss? People are more likely to tilt their heads to the right when kissing instead of left, says a report published recently in the journal Nature. A scientist from Ruhr University in Germany analyzed 124 pairs of smoochers and found that 65 percent go toward the right.

10. Meet for drinks before dinner. Researchers at NYU and Stanford have discovered that hungry men prefer heavier women. By staking out a dining hall, scientists had hundreds of students fill out questionnaires about their preferences in a mate. Men who filled out the questionnaire just before they entered the hall described their ideal woman as an average of three or four pounds heavier than men interviewed after they ate. Incidentally, researchers did not find the same change in women’s preferences, so guys: Go ahead and schedule that drinks date for before or after dinnertime.

Laura Schaefer is the author of Man with Farm Seeks Woman with Tractor: The Best and Worst Personal Ads of All Time.

Mousse to the Max...

Wow. We just had chocolate mousse. Or should we say MOUSSE? For those of you who know MeLissa well, you know she can really put away the chocolate, but she may have met her match. Yes, she's sitting here typing this (oh, come on you all know it's MeLissa typing here, don't you?) looking at an unfinished bowl of mousse seriously contemplating whether or not she's going to finish it. It is actually making her head swim. *That* is unheard of, but that is what a good mousse is like! If you'd like to try this delectable treat, please have a look at the recipe here- you might just want to invite a bunch of friends over to share it with.

Other than this little bit of sweet excitement, the Rocco house has been pretty quiet. MeLissa has been busy crocheting (the finished product will be showcased in future post!) while Mark has been studying chiropractic and laying face-down. We have another appointment for Mark tomorrow with the doctor. Hopefully, we won't have too much to talk about after that either! :)

Pixie's ABCs

Pixie hasn't posted anything for a while, but has decided to grace us with a better understanding of herself.

ABC Survey
A is for age: 2
B is for booze of choice: Milk, if I can get it.
C is for career: Professional Whiner
D is for your Dad's name: Mark
E is for essential items to bring to a party: Catnip

F is for favorite song at the moment: What's New Pixie Cat
G is for favorite game: Chase the Laser
H is for hometown: Castro Valley, CA
I is for instruments you play: I meow. That's it.
J is for jam or jelly you like: Tuna
K is for kids: Not gonna happen, folks.
L is for living arrangements: with my typing and food slave and the enforcer in a 2 bedroom condo
M is for Mom's name: MeLissa
N is for name of your crush: The enforcer...but since he's being a pest and won't pet me enough, my typing and food slave.
O is for overnight hospital stays: None
P is for phobias: Vaccuums
Q is for quotes you like: "Meow."
R is for relationship that lasted the longest: With the typing slave.
S is for soda preference: Tuna flavored if they have it.
T is for tasty desserts: Ice Cream
U is for underwear: I go commando.
V is for vegetables you love: Yuck.
W is for weekend plans: Sleep, eat, terrorize, be pet.
X is for x-rays you've had: None.
Y is for year you graduated from high school: Cats are too smart for school.
Z is for zodiac sign: Pices

So Far, So Good...

Well, it was quite a day in the operating room yesterday from the sound (and look) of it. Mark's retinal surgeon came out to speak to MeLissa after the procedure was complete yesterday. He looked like he'd been in quite a battle. So far, it looks like he won....again. :)

He said that when he got his first look in Mark's eye, he wasn't sure he'd actually be able to do anything, but he made an attempt and with a lot of patience and perseverance, he reached a point where he was satisfied. The procedure included clearing fibrous material from both sides of Mark's lens (which is no easy task since he didn't want to scratch the lens. He contemplated pretty seriously whehter to actually take the lens out - apparently, it is more of a hinderance than a help, but it was pretty well situated in there with scar tissue and it would have been difficult to accomplish successfully. So, for now, he's leaving it in.

Apparently, one this that was a little disappointing to see was that the fibrous membrane that had formed has become vascularized (i.e., there are blood vessels running through it) and had actually filled the front of Mark's eye with blood (probably due to the drop in eye pressure that occurs with anethesia) so he had to cauterize those after removing the membrane. He also gave Mark a little shot of steroids outside of his eye to hopefully control their growth in the future months.

Once that was taken care of, he moved on to the retina which he had seen was detached once he got in there. He removed the scar tissue without too much trouble in one piece, cut the retina off about 270 degrees around the eye with the laser and then smoothed it out and reattached it. He filled the eye with gas to keep the retina in place and then patched Mark up.

We finally left the hospital at about 7:45 p.m. last night (we arrived at around 9:30 a.m.) and headed home. As usual, we made our "traditional" stop at Jamba juice on the way home. This pretty much served as supper until about midnight when Mark enjoyed some leftover soup and MeLissa had some very tasty toast.

So, now, Mark is back to his favorite (or so it would seem) position - face-down. It will be the same drill as before only with a twist. This time, since Mark has the gas bubble in his eye, we have to make sure that we don't go anywhere with significantly higher (or lower) altitude - this includes, of course, flying. Breaking this "rule" would essentially guarantee blindness in his eye. So, it looks like we'll definitely not be travelling to Hawaii or the Tahoe/Reno area (a recently considered Hawaii substitute - if you can't have Maui, snow is the next best thing, right?) anytime soon.

Please continue to pray for Mark's complete recovery. :)

For those who might be curious, MeLissa passed her day yesterday rather "eventfully." By this we mean, she read the text for her event planning course. She's almost finished - just about 50 pages to go which she should be able to finish up today. We're moving right along here....

Surgery Day

So Mark has surgery today. He'll be going in around 11:20 a.m. The doctor plans to remove some fibrous material that has grown in his eye which is obstructing the view of the retina. As part of the surgery, he'll have a look to make sure that Mark's retina is doing okay. If so, he'll patch him up and we'll soon be on our way. If not, the doctor will make repairs and then we'll be back to the same ol' same ol' face down sentence.

We'll give you an update on how things went soon. Until then, please keep Mark in your prayers.