Pixie's Ponderings...

Pixie here....

MeLissa, my loyal typing, food and most importantly, pet slave has, thanks to Meankitty's typing slave, realized that *I* am who this family revolves around and that you all are seriously feeling deprived and depressed about not having an update about or from me for months! The shame of it all. Let's hope she behaves better in the future...if not, maybe I'll just have to find out how one makes morning sickness, whatever that is, last for 9 months (perhaps Meankitty knows...).

So enough about all this...let's talk about me shall we? I have been having a fabulous year, my friends. It's been several months since the demon (aka Banshee) vacated the premises. I finally have mom and dad all to myself again...and mom's even been home a lot for the past few months so I've been getting pet and tended to throughout the day. I'm finally being treated like royalty. Life is perfect.

I have heard, though, talk of a couple of things which I'm not terribly thrilled about. Until they actually happen, I'll assume it's all talk. First, there has been talk of a DOG joining our household at some point. Hello?! What are you thinking? A Dog? Ewww. Should this happen, I refuse to come out from under the couch until said ruffian is banished to the garage or sent away...

And, then my humans have been all happy and buzzing about some other thing they say is coming to live with us. It's referred to as "the baby, the pea, the sweet pea" and other stupid names. I don't like the sound of it. MeLissa keeps making stupid comments about how she's always wanted to be the pregnant lady with a cat on her lap and keeps making comments to me about how I better enjoy all the room I have there to roll around in ecstacy while she pets me because it won't be there forever. She's crazy. That's my assessment. She doesn't strike me as the kind to go on an eating binge...especially since recently she doesn't seem to want to eat much of anything and when she does she whines about how her tummy is feeling. She probably just needs some catnip or some tuna. That seems to fix everything for me.

Speaking of tuna, I have been introduced to its yummy goodness by Mark, but after introducing me to this stuff, he's been quite a pill. I implore him to give me my share and what do I get in return? Water droplets. Sorry dude...I don't get the connection. Just give me the tuna and I'll stop whining. Which reminds me...it's sure been a long time since we've had tuna (MeLissa's note - because it stinks!!! I can't handle it!)...

I have other tales to tell, but this post is getting lengthy and, frankly, I don't wish to relive the experience I had the other evening. Let's just say I was tortured because I was scooting my bum across the floor. It's not myyyy fault that certain glands of mine don't work as they should. They seem to work fine now, though...thanks Mark for fixing my "issue" - you kitty molester you.

Hope everyone is doing well...I think I'll go make MeLissa pet me again. Or perhaps we'll play some more ball. We've had a grand day today while the Enforcer (Mark) has been away.

Update...

In terms of an update, first things first. I will be ignoring all future cravings that involve allergy foods. The chili tasted great but it was quite evil. C'est la vie!

As for the job search, things are coming along. I have an interview next week with a CPA firm in Walnut Creek and there are a couple of other interviews also possible. I'll keep you all posted on how things are going.

Other than that, we've been busy this week with various things. Mark is learning how to use the internet and seems to be enjoying his first week of the new quarter. I've met with a few different wedding-related vendors (despite the fact that I am not sure where I plan to go with my business now that we have a little one on the way). I'll probably keep things pretty low key until January when I have one final bridal show. I am thinking I will basically just start being very selective about who I "hire" as my clients. With a full-time job I will be able to serve as many or as few clients as I want. I do really like that aspect of returning to corporate life.

Not too much else is going on so this will be a very short post today. We will be going for our first official OB appointment on Monday so hopefully we'll have some new news to share about our little pea (who is probably closer to the size of a raspberry by now) and how he/she is doing.

My First Craving...

Which is, of course, something I shouldn't be eating has taken over my body. I MUST HAVE CHILI. Must, must, must!!! And lest I forget...said chili must be accompanied by real fritos (corn tortilla chips just aren't going to do it tonight my friends!) and by cheese...and lots of it.

Now what is the likelihood that the very first food that I absolutely *had* to have (to the point that I was actually considering how yummy eggs and chili would be if combine and hamburgers and french fries...oh yeah, I have it bad) is something that has oh, about 4 or 5 allergy foods in it? Chili powder, garlic, onions (these last three are coming purely from the chili powder...I didn't add any additional garlic and onions trying to at least behave a little) and, of course, tomatoes in two forms (tomato sauce and diced canned tomatoes).

Well, at least I'm approaching it from a semi-smart stance. As I mentioned, I removed all the extra onion and what not. I also diluted the tomato sauce (what good that will do who knows...but it sounded like a good idea at the time). But the really smart moves I made? I took a Claritin and I took a dose of my preventative asthma medicine (advair) because otherwise I will be basically in big trouble. I may be anyhow.

Note to Sweet Pea: Try to make future cravings things your mommy isn't allergic to...because breathing is good and when mommy can't breathe, you can't breathe!

Note to Chili: Please go easy on us, will ya? I mean, come on, I'm pregnant here....do you actually expect me to say no to one of my favorite foods when I crave it and I'm pregnant? Please! ;)

In other non-pregnancy news, I have two mini-interviews tomorrow with recruiters. I know one of them from a prior job search - he's a goodie. The other is a new one but seems like a nice guy. I'll be treking into the city and I might just make a little stop by good ol' PG&E to say howdy. If you're a PG&E-er and want a visit, put your request in prior to noon and I might just grant your wish! ;)

Happy October and The Pea's First Blessing...

We went to church today - the first time since we learned our little pea was with us. It's possible that the pea was with us on other church outings, but this was his/her introduction day and the first day she/he received a little blessing. Oh how it warmed my little heart!

We announced our "news" during the thanksgiving portion of the ceremony. I let Mark do the talking. Everyone was, of course, thrilled to hear (we even were applauded!). Then during communion, I went up for my typical blessing (since I'm allergic to wheat, communion bread or wafers are kind of off limits) and the priest made sure to extend the little blessing to the pea...very sweet and very worth remembering (hence, it's in the record now!).

Other than that, today is a rather nondescript day so far....the day is young!

Preggie Pops

I now have them within my possession. They're not bad. They actually even fit into my allergy profile (which is amazing in and of itself). As far as their ability to quell morning sickness (which, by the way, has calmed down ever so slightly), I'm not sure how effective they'll be. They do pretty well at meeting their claims of curing dry mouth...they definitely make you salivate. They're quite tasty, too (based soley on the one I've eaten which was actually a lemon flavored "Preggie Drop").

Now I do have to relay one concern should anyone else who's expecting decide to try these little goodies. My concern - one of the Preggie Pops is peppermint flavor and includes some amount of peppermint essential oil (all the flavorings seem to be essential oils...perhaps the reason they may calm the tummy?). For those who aren't "in the know," peppermint can increase the risk of miscarriage. So, I might just save that pop for post pregnancy (or the delivery room...if you're delivering, it seems like you're probably safe from miscarriage, right?). At any rate, just keep it in mind.

While on our Preggie Pop mission (which was at Babies R Us), we did have a look at some cribs and other implements so we can think about what it is we're going to want for our new little family member. Since there is some possibility that we'll move back to Colorado soon, we want to pick furniture that moves easily. Since we don't have a lot of space in our current living arrangement (the baby's room will probably be a corner in our room so that grandparents and others who want to visit the little one will have a place to stay), we're also looking for smart solutions that will allow us to make good use of our space rather than stub our toes regularly. :)

Other than that, we took a huge load of stuff to Goodwill today. The new little guy/girl is a great motivator to start clearing out some things that we've been on the fence about whether we want to keep or not. I alone got rid of probably 4 bags of clothing....and amazingly, we don't have much under our bed now. Hee hee!

Last little tidbit for today - strawberries. Frozen ones that have been thawed. We bought a big bag last week at Costco and we've (that means primarily me) have eaten almost half the bag. So, you can add frozen strawberries to my list of "can't get enough of them!" foods. On the other hand, bacon is on the "ewww" list. Also on this list is hamburger which hasn't been rinsed. The cow that we bought at the beginning of the summer is pretty lean so we usually just cook it and go from there...that is no longer allowed.

We hope you're all having a great weekend!

Morning, Noon & Night Sickness...

If only this took the place of the temper tantrums, the terrible twos and adolescent attitude...but alas, the challenges of parenting only begin with "morning" sickness which is more of a 24/7 ordeal it seems. At this very moment, I'm in one of the worst waves of the day so forgive me if poor grammar plagues this post.

Yes, I am definitely in full sickies mode...without, knock on wood, the need to pray to any porcelin idols in the bathroom. As is the case for many moms-to-be, I have been given many tips on how to help myself through this time. Because I know a few moms-to-be stop by here, I'll share!

First up - the things I'm plan to try or have tried but haven't yet decided on their effectiveness:

• Frozen red grapes sans skins - Supposedly you just nibble on them like a squirrel. I've had a couple and they're quite tasty, but I don't know about their effectiveness yet. This came from one of the doctors at Mark's school.
• Preggie Pops - a tip from Angela. These are available at Babies R Us and must work given who recommended them. I have nothing to complain about after hearing about Angela's morning sickness - 4 trips to the hospital and 14 lbs. lost - ay carumba!
• Ginger Tea - I tried this back in the "false" pregnancy days. It's vile to me since I'm not a fan of straight ginger, but I'll probably give it another chance anyhow. It can't hurt. This came from the doctor who is responsible for the false pregnancy problems (he's been fired, of course) and so it's lower on my list of options.
• Tortilla Chips - a substitute for saltines suggested by mom. Tried these with the false thing but haven't tried them really since we've been truly pregnant.

Second on the list - Things I Think I'll Pass On:

• Seaweed - Anyone who knows me knows this just isn't going to happen. The smell alone will ruin my record as far as "praying" goes.
• Flat Soda - We don't drink soda very often anyhow. The ginger ale I have been drinking isn't flat, but the bubbles seem to help ever so slightly.
• Saltines - This is always the first recommendation out of every person's mouth...but I'm allergic to wheat so they aren't a good choice. :)

Next Up - Things That Seem to Work for Me

• Ginger ale - I've not decided between cold or warm, but it seems to calm the angry stomach quite well.
• Oatmeal cookies - yep...believe it or not, one cookie has done wonders on several occasions...more than one usually cancels some of the benefit. We're out. I need to make more and plan to do so with a bit less sugar to try to up their healthy quotient.
• Fruit - strawberries and peaches seem to be the favorites right now.
• Eating small meals - this one isn't a food, but it has been very helpful. I eat a little somethihg about every 1 to 2 hours (not much at all!) and it seems to keep things a bit less grumpy...

And now, because it's rather amusing to me, the foods which I normally go gaga over that taste less than stellar:

• chocolate - say it isn't so!!!
• toast with cream cheese - even adding cherry jam made no difference
• dried apricots - vile to the highest degree
• pizza - which is not like the pizza most of you eat, but nonetheless it was a favorite and is not simply tolerated
• green olives - they taste like campho phenique. They are vile. And, they used to be snack food.
• sugar - amazingly anything with too much in it is less than appealing.

Finally, a list of foods I simply can't get enough of:

• cottage cheese - we bought some on Sunday and had to buy more yesterday which is unheard of.
• cucumber - I never grow tired of these - it's too bad they aren't more nutrient filled.
• chicken broth with chicken, rice and peas - of all the combinations, this is a favorite...soothing, soup-like (I miss the days when Campbell's was an option), easy on the tummy and very comforting

I'm sure there will be more revelations such as these as we go along....and now it's time for a nap while I can still take them.

I don't think I've mentioned that I'm probably going to be returning to the corporate world quite soon. The doctor wants me to take it easy and devote more time to things like accounting and what not rather than running all over for weddings and the like. The wedding and event business is still up and running, but it will be sort of "on hold" until probably September of next year. I'm ramping down a bit.

What is funny is Mark and I had decided prior to even going to the doctor or even suspecting that I was "with child" that I would try to rejoin Safeway since he's doing well and we believed it would be good fiscal policy for us. I even called my old boss on Sunday evening...so we'll see what happens, but hopefully they will let me return very soon! If not, I suppose I'll have to find another position that I can assume that will be low stress...but hopefully, everything will work out with this.

We're Expecting!!

We just received some terrific and exciting news today! It was a big (or maybe we should say little) surprise to us. Yeah, I had missed my monthly, but since I'd also made some changes to my medications, I figured that and the tiredness were all due to that. How wrong we were!

Here's our cute little sweetpea. I had the pleasure of seeing its little heartbeat flutter yesterday...it truly is the cutest little pea I've ever seen. Look in between the pluses to see the little tyke!

The doctor estimates we're about 6 1/2 weeks along and using that little (and rather inaccurate calculator thingie), our due date is approximately May 21, 2007. We look forward to bringing you many more updates as our little pea grows into a nice healthy little boy or girl!

It's Been a While, Hasn't It?

Wow - it's been more than 2 weeks since I've provided an update! Does that tell you how busy we've been here in the Rocco household?

At any rate, let's see if I can bring you back up to speed on all that's transpired over the past couple of weeks (the good stuff, of course!). But before I do, I think I owe you a few things like pictures. But, of course, the photo feature on blogger is giving me grief again so we'll resort to the easier to upload quickly (and so you'll get more pictures in the end anyhow!). Go here for pictures of my new hair do which are included in wedding pictures from Jackie and Jason's day, pictures of my lemons of which I am terribly proud (and they're way bigger than in that picture, a picture of Mark at his clinic entrance ceremony and pictures of my recent booths. Unfortunately, you don't get to see the final rose booth yet because I spaced bringing my camera with me to the show, but hopefully one of the people who took some for me will come through....

So - onto the recap. We left you with details that we were going to have a party for Mark after all. It was a fun time! I made a yummy (yes, I did eat a piece - and I paid for it for days!) spice cake with maple frosting. YUM. For such short notice we had a pretty decent turn out and everyone was so sweet and brought Mark a little card or gift. Very thoughtful indeed. This all happened on Friday night (Sept. 8).

Now earlier that day, I had a pretty thrilling experience (in the good kind of thrilling way). I now have a way to get flowers at wholesale for my clients. If you looked at the pictures from my shows, you've seen some of my work. That's about as good as it gets folks. I can do simple arrangements.

At any rate, earlier that day, I bought about 200 roses (which was thrilling in and of itself!). Unfortunately, as we well know, every rose has thorns (or at least they do when you buy them wholesale). So, I had the pleasure of dethorning all 200! It actually went pretty well once I figured out how to use the dethorning tool I bought. The roses were a big hit at the show, too...especially for the 7 people who signed up for appointments to discuss their event with me. Very cool! These 7 people actually represent 10 events. My first meeting with one is this coming Thursday and I'm very excited because the bride I'm meeting is a total sweetheart! Hopefully everything will work out better than they have with another bride I've been talking to.

She's in Germany right now (as is her fiance) with the AF, but is getting married in ND. Her budget, was, I thought enough to accommodate my services, but after doing some checking, it became clear that it simply wouldn't work out. I told her I would try to work something out with her, but I haven't heard back. I took about a week to play with numbers and see if I could make things go, but to no avail. C'est la vie. On another bummer note, the bride I was supposed to meet on Mark's birthday ended up being a no-show. I haven't heard from her either....I may follow up again, but I don't want to be too pesky.

On the night of Mark's birthday we went to a Talent and Treasure auction at our church. Last I heard, about $9000 was raised that night. We played our part with the gift certificates we offered. Mine was won by a dear lady whom I adore. She and her husband are contemplating what they'd like to do with their certificate - whether to use it to plan a party or a vow renewal. Either will be a blast! :) We're not sure who won Mark's certs yet.

We didn't end up winning anything in the auction, but we only bid on one thing and another lady really wanted it so that's cool. We truly didn't need to be spending $$ anyhow...but it was for a 2 night stay at the Embassy Suites in So. Tahoe and we thought it might be a nice little getaway during his break. As things are shaping up, we might not have been able to go then anyhow!

On Sunday was the first of three bridal shows in a row for me. I have 10 possible events from this show to discuss over the next few months with people. Very exciting stuff...especially since every one of these people actually wants to hear from me. It's nice to call and find someone receptive on the other end!

On Monday, Mark's dad and brother celebrated their birthdays (kind of a bummer to be born on 9-11, but hopefully they had good days despite the tragic things that happened a few years ago). I did a little tax work on this day to earn a little $$ and then later that evening had a nice little meeting with a pianist who is trying to increase his wedding and event business. We met at Red Lobster and had a great discussion and I'm now the proud owner of his newest CD. On our way out, I grabbed some dinner for Mark and I - belated birthday fare. He enjoyed his for lunch the next day since I was a little tardy in getting home.

On Tuesday, I attended the networking meeting I've been helping plan. It was a fun time meeting other bridal consultants in the area...even if I did get lost on the way there. The precious (the GPS system I use) sometimes takes you to old locations. *sigh*

Then, on Wednesday night, Mark and I attended both a new member reception and a mixer for the Chamber of Commerce. Mark's luck is always the best. They were having drawings and one was for a cute little Bank of the West bear...he won! I was so happy. Not two seconds before had I said "oh, I want one." So, I now have little Cali the bear in my possession. Some people said I should have wished bigger, but they obviously don't know about my obsession with stuffed animals...

The mixer was great otherwise, though, too. I met a photographer from here in town whom I'm actually meeting today to see if we can work together. It should be a great meeting, I think.

Then, of course Thursday, Friday and Saturday were spent doing last minute preparations for my next bridal faire at the Pleasanton Fairgrounds. That one went very well also. Everyone adored the mum arrangements I did. In fact, one person told me she now has a new appreciation for just how stunning they can be. I'm glad it was such an outpouring because they took longer than the roses. The biggest compliments I got, though, were from brides who thought at first that I was a florist. Does it get any better? The final talley on this show was another 6 people to speak to about wedding services. It looks like a majority of people are looking for day-of coordination and some are looking for dates earlier next year so that is nice since I'll be able to continue marketing to brides who want summer weddings.

And, now we're finally to this week. Mark has been studying for finals (another quarter is just about done!) and I've been trying to send out a lot of emails to people who attended these past two fairs. We did go to a little function for teachers on Monday as well...

So, as you can see, we've been busy beavers here and that is why you haven't heard from us. I have one more show this weekend and then, hopefully, things will slow down enough that I can catch my breath, but not so much that I'm lacking in things to do. I don't see that every happening again with my little business venture...and since it doesn't feel like I'm actually working, that's just fine with me! :)

Hope everything is going well in your respective locations!

Happy Labor Day!

I hope you're all enjoying your 3-day weekend. Mark and I aren't doing much that's out of the ordinary. He's at school laboring away on test reviews while I am at home doing "business stuff." We know you're all jealous. :)

Mark's second board exam is quickly approaching (as is his birthday (see the counter down below on the side bar). I guess we're going to have a little soiree for him (despite his telling me on countless occasions that he didn't want a party for his big 3-0 birthday). So, it's going to be very informal - we're inviting friends to join us on Friday of this week at the O'Hana grill down the street from our house for a dutch-treat birthday dinner. We'll supply the cake and ice cream...and, of course, the birthday boy!

Other than that, on Saturday of next week (Mark's actual birthday if you're doing the match), we plan to attend our church's Talent and Treasure auction. We've even donated a couple of items - 2 hour long massages from Mark and 3 hours of wedding and event consulting from me. Exciting stuff sure to garner at least a few dollars for the church!

On Sunday the 10th, I have my next bridal show. I'm approaching it from a different standpoint and hope it will be a bit more successful than shows past (which haven't been too bad, really). Speaking of shows past, I was supposed to meet with a client this weekend. It has been pushed back to Mark's birthday as well which is just fine. There's another potential prospect I need to get back to as well. At this next fair, my focus will be to schedule as many actual appointments as possible. I have something up my sleeve to at least get them interested in stopping by my booth. ;)

Other than that, I have just been sending out information about my company and it seems to be driving traffic to the website. I've also received a ton of traffic from a wedding planning article that has been published on Wed Plan.net which I've linked the post title to. :) What's super duper about this is that they actually chose my article to send out to brides in their monthly newsletter so now, brides and other vendors from all over the country are learning more about my business. How cool is that? I've even made a few new contacts from it. Pretty neat stuff!

Today it will be more of the same for me...emailing clients and entering more vendors' info into my wedding planning software. It seems that I'm meeting people faster than I can get them in my system, but sooner or later it should start to dwindle. I actually really enjoy the meeting process much more than the inputting so keep them coming! :)

Hope you all have a great week!

Congratulations Jackie and Jason!

We just returned last night from visiting Maui - another lighting fast weekend trip. We had a nice time as always and a lot of fun at our friends' wedding.

They were married Saturday evening at the beach by the Maui Sunset...it was lovely of course. I even helped out a little here and there.

We didn't really have time to go to the beach or to relax, to be honest, but it was nice to see all of our friends and to celebrate J&J's marriage which has been a long time coming! :)

I'll post pictures once I find time to do so...and then everyone can see my new hair do as well.

So, quick recap - Friday we arrived in the morning and to our surprise Mark's dad was waiting for us. There was apparently some confusion over whether we were going to rent a car or what not. I suppose we should have called when we made the reservation but I've been pretty busy lately and little things that aren't work-related seem to slip my mind easily (like forgetting that I'd given Mark's shoes to his dad...at the wedding - we spent a good amount of time calling around looking for those!).

We had lunch with his parents and then headed over to rent Mark's tux. I made a nice connection at the tux shop and will be referring my destination Maui clients there. They're also going to pass my info along to those who might wish to be married in SF. Once we had Mark's tux we rushed home for a quick shower and then really rushed to get out the door when we discovered (at about 4:30) that rehearsal was at 5...

Stayed at the rehearsal location for a good little bit conversing with various friends and the bride and groom's family members. Then went to visit our friend Keola who has, unfortunately, experienced the loss of his mother recently. Please keep him and his family in your prayers.

Saturday we spent running a few errands and then getting ready and attending the wedding. Fun was had by all and I have some new great contacts and a new tasty drink as well. :) New contacts include the president of the Maui Wedding Association who owns the catering company as well as a DJ services, table, linen and and tabletop company, etc. Also, I met a couple from the Bay Area (Sacramento and Manteca areas I believe) who just got engaged. They're looking to plan a nice luau reception which hopefully I'll be able to be a part of. As for the drink - when Shirley Temple isn't in the house, a nice mix of sprite and strawberry daiquiri mix does the trick! :)

Sunday we spent running around trying to find Mark's medications (which I'll have to refill today along with getting one of my own). Then we headed out for our flight...and oh what a fligh it was.

There was this little girl who screamed the entire time minus maybe 1/2 an hour. This was before we left the airport to after we landed. I was doing my best not to take Mark's can and whap her upside the head. Seriously. Sounds bad, I know, but I think it's safe to say 80% of the passengers on the plane agreed with me.

So, this week, I am going to keep up with my business stuff...especially calling people about my services (and sending email communications as well). I'm also going to look into maybe doing a little bit of tax prep services just to help us sustain ourselves a bit longer while I'm working on brining my business to life. We thank everyone for their prayers as we do our best to make everything work out! :)

Mark, on the other hand will be taking tests and working in the clinic...it's pretty much the same story every week for him. :)

And, finally, on the island of Maui there is much celebrating today as a very sweet lady turns another year older - Happy Birthday Mom Rocco! :)

Startin' It Up!

My thanks to all of you who voted for my elevator pitch - I'm pleased to say your efforts were worthwhile and I am now on to round 2! It was looking a bit scary yesterday...the window washing system guy from Quebec was closing the gap by leaps and bounds (I'd dropped to 3rd by that time)...but in the end, I'm in! :)

So, next show is supposed to be recorded in just a few minutes and will air this coming Saturday at 4 p.m. on KNEW here in the Bay Area or, of course, you'll have the opportunity to listen online and then vote for me again. :) Hopefully this free exposure will help me with my marketing efforts!

Thanks again!

The Home Stretch...

Well, we're still doing well in the polls...still in 3rd place (we were in 2nd for quite some time but were inched out); however, we have window washing guy from Quebec about to over-take us so we need your vote (if you don't mind!).

Please go to http://www.startupnation.com/pages/community/registration.asp

and sign up for an account at SUN's community. Then go to http://www.startupnation.com/pages/community/forum_posts.asp?TID=1266

and vote prior to midnight today (you can try later than that, but I figure it's a good safe margin)!

Thanks for your support! :)
Me

Imagine That - The Pitch Is Good!

Well, I apparently have impressed enough people with my pitch. Unless things go utterly crazy with the voting in the next few days, it looks like I will actually be moving on to round two in the "pitch-off." How exciting, huh? And, nerve wracking...I gotta get to practicing my new pitch. At least it is written.

So, yesterday I had a bit of a disappointment, but that whole elevator pitch thing mellowed it out. It turns out that the BNI group I wanted to join doesn't want me. Boo hoo hoo. Or perhaps the more appropriate response is "eh, whatever." It appears that they like me but that they prefer people who have at least a year's experience with their business. I don't have this, of course, but I'd think that with the rest of my background they might have made an exception. Ah well...you win some, you lose some (look at that closely and you might get what made me chuckle ever so slightly when I wrote it). ;)

They're trying to set me up with a few other groups to meet and see if they'd work for me. These groups are all composed of people who haven't been in business very long. I'm not sure what I think about that. It seems that if they aren't established, much like me, they may not be bringing the clients to my door that I'm looking for. So, I'm going to go, but I'm kind of sceptical about what I'm planning to do in the end.

In other business news, I am now caught up with my calls from the Santa Clara show. Dearest Mark put some of his 24 hour Fitness call skills to work and ripped through the list. Way to be! :) That leaves me free to start calling brides from Pleasanton tomorrow evening.

Finally, it looks like I will have an ad in print very soon. I have just signed on with The Wedding Guide to have my ad printed in a number of regional directories. It was pretty affordable and should give me good exposure. Beginning shortly, I will start receiving leads from this source as well. I am hopeful that it will be worth my while...we'll soon see! I did go ahead and pay extra for a preferred listing on the website as well so I'll be prominently displayed...

And, now, onto non-business news...

We had a nice little visit from Mark's brother this evening. He was down from Tahoe for training for his new job. He's working as a mortgage broker for BWC Mortgage. We ventured over to the Hawaiian restaurant for some tasty kalua pig and conversation. It was an enjoyable time...

Other than that, we went to church this past weekend. Mark dragged me, to be honest (isn't that a funny piece of imagery). He apparently knows that I need it in my life to function best. He's right. I do. I felt so much better after going, though, to be honest, I was just trying my best not to cry through the whole service. We're going through a pretty scary time here with all the changes that are taking place and I'm a wee bit fragile at times. I guess I'm allowed...

As much as I hate to relate going to church to business (I guess it's still part of God's plan, but it seems out of place to me), it was good to go for that too. Not only did the readings and the sermon give me renewed hope that the Lord will provide for us, our outing provided the opportunity for me to speak to our priest, Fr. Rob, about my services, especially the newlywed financial planning, and how I'd really like to meet with clergy members to tell them more about it and maybe even improve it. I'd also like to maybe see if they can direct me to a few of their newlywed parishoners because I'd love to have a couple of couples to go through the process with to work out any bugs. I'm actually thinking, too, that I may check about offering this as a series of group classes in addition to the couple + me format. I think it could make it more affordable for those just getting started (because I could reduce my fees) and also, I believe it would allow me to help more people than I might be able to now. I think it would also make this portion of the business a great franchising opportunity.

I can't really think of anything else. I need to start working on bath salt bundles or other goodies for my next bridal show which is in about a month. I also need to arrange for a booth sign for a couple of them. It's an exciting time here and hopefully all my hard work and effort will pay off very soon! Please keep us in your prayers - we need all that we can get! Oh, and if you're into crafty stuff and want to volunteer to help with the gifties for the show, just give me a call...I can always use a bit of help!

Here's the Pitch!

So I promised that I would post the link once the Elevator pitch contest was up at Startup Nation so that you can hear just how I did. I have to say that upon hearing myself yesterday I did much better than I originally thought. When on the phone with the show hosts, I felt like I had totally bit the dust, but no...no, I just faltered a bit here and there. My nerves were in full-on *aaaaarrrrggggghhhh* mode given all that was going on that day.

For this was the day, my friends, that I discovered my brochures had been folded backwards, that I was late (because of the contest) for an appointment with Mark's retinal doctor, that I had learned that my business cards and magnets and other items were not going to be there in time for the bridal show I was doing the next day. To say the least...it was the worst possible day and I still did just fine! :)

So, enjoy the pitch, forgive my slight stumbles and, oh, did I mention? Vote for me! Just hit the discuss this radio show button at the top and join the community to cast your vote.

Wow - I Must Have Been Busy!

I just realized I never posted anything about what we did for our anniversary. On July 31, I know you all remember. :)

For that matter, I noticed upon looking at pictures in my camera that I've just totally not been the best recapper lately. There are pictures I never even shared with the world like our walk in the "perfect for a horror movie" woods tha we like to walk through. So named, by the way, because one time when we went walking there I was feeling a little "scardy catish" and it was right at dusk and there were lots of shadows and stuff. Yeah, I'm a bit paranoid sometimes. At any rate, here's a little pic of that place. As you can see, it isn't terribly scary....in fact is has birdies. Of course because blogger is inherently evil, I have to post the pictures elsewhere. I think mark-n-melissa.com is the place. Go here. And yes, I do know that I shouldn't be taking pictures while driving...trust me, these were all lucky shots given that I wasn't really focusing on aiming or anything...

I've added a couple of bonus photos from Santana Row in San Jose as well. I figured you all might enjoy seeing them...especially the Grand Marnier vehicle and the license plate. How cool are they?

Then there was the "I'm bored again" day in San Franscisco. I had one of these a few weeks back and did a little picture tour for a few select friends (I know I'm playing favorites - sorry). :) To make it up to you, the most recent version of said tour with pictures is on the mark-n-melissa site of course. Maybe I'll even hunt down the old tour...

And now onto our Anniversary....

It was a pretty nice day on Sunday, July 30 (which is when we celebrated which was good because Mark came home around 8 on our actual anniversary). We didn't go too far away from home this time around since we are trying to watch our finances given that there's no $$ coming in at the moment. Still, though, it was a great day.

We started it off with a little jaunt to Santa Rosa. While here, we grabbed a ton of infomration on fun touristy things to do all over the Bay Area at the Visitor's Center. We also began our quest to see as many Woodstock statues as we possibly could. I think to avoid the annoyance that is blogger, I may just post these pictures to a little photo service and let you all take a peek because, well, Mark is a loon and made many of the pictures quite fun to look at. I especially like the one where he's trying to eat Woodstocks marshmallows...and am sort of giggling thinking about it since he kind of bent in a bit too far the first time (bad guide wife!) and bonked his nose. I was afraid we were going to break the statue or something, but no. The disco woodstock is pretty cool, too. Which are your favorites of the ones we've seen?

We enjoyed lunch at a little restaurant called Checkers. Highly recommended if you get the opportunity to go. We had salads that were very yummy (and allergy free!). :)

Then we headed back down toward San Francisco for a tour of Sausolito, but we took a detour. We thgouht it was a short one to Stinson beach, but no. We ended up going through a good chunk of the Muir Woods (including past the Pelican Inn where MeLissa had once attended an off-site meeting with the Capital Recovery group at PG&E (very cool place!). We took a little bit of a break half-way through to enjoy a scenic overlook. As you can see from the beautiful pictures (also in the yahoo folder), it was a great idea stopping! Once we'd traipsed around a bit, we kept on toward Stinson beach. We finally go there and man, it's definitely a nice (and busy!) beach. We took a little stroll and then jumped back in the car to go to Sausolito.

In Sausolito, we enjoyed wandering and taking photos (on the other site of course) and we even bought our yearly anniversary Christmas ornament. This year we bought a cute little lighthouse. Last year it was a cool little glass ball with sand and shells from Monterey.

Now, at the end of the Woodstock, Stinson, Sausalito slideshow, there's an added treat - a couple of pictures from when my friend Lucie and I went to the Brides Magazine launch party and pictures from my last bridal show. I didn't have time to get flowers this time around so I brought our big martini glass and flled it with lemon drops. It was a simple table decoration and people loved it. :)

I think that is pretty much the recap. Head on over to the pictures for the fun part of the post. :)

Another One Down - Three to Go

The bridal show this past weekend was great. I got a lot of great survey answers in exchange for bath salts. Good stuff that should be very helpful when I call the bridely types back. I have about 25 who I need to call from the looks of it.

And, I have one that I emailed today who is intersted in Day-Of Coordination so that's quite good. I'll be following up with her and the bride who's considering my full-service planning this evening. They both seem like great ladies - I hope I am able to work with them. I have a lot of follow-ups to do today...including finishing up with the San Jose crowd.

Yesterday I also signed myself up for 3 more bridal shows. Most Sundays in the month of September are now occupied with things to do. At least I'm finally getting this process down so it doesn't really take too much effort.

Mark is really going crazy with the clinic stuff at school. Some of his instructors are actually asking him if maybe he's going a bit too crazy. I'm sure he'll be fine, but I sure don't see much of him what with meeting clients and his weekend review courses. At least the latter should finish up once he takes his 2nd board exam in September.

Other than that, there hasnt' been too much to speak of around here. We're just plugging along and making due. :) Hope you're all having a great week.

Weekly Recap....

This was a busy week around here! Mark had tons of tests and I had lots of phone calls to make and even a couple of meetings!

My favorite "meeting," though was Thursday night. On that night, Brides Magazine/Brides.com had a launch party for their new Northern California magazine which I'm actually contemplating advertising in. My friend Lucie, a photographer who's work will be sprinkled on my website (www.winsomeevents.com) very soon, and I went to the city to see what it was all about. It was a great party with lots of goodies - alcohol (and Shirley Temples for me!), chocolate fountains, Sherri's Berries, and lots of vendors who LOVED me! :)

Not to brag, but networking with top notch vendors is easy when you have those six little letters behind your name (you know, MBA, CPA!). I even had one man who had heard about me from someone else apparently chase me down and ask "Are you the wedding consultant?" Turns out he owns a nice little establishment perfect for intimate weddings, receptions, rehearsal dinners and the like. And, then of course, there were all the photographers that I met through Lucie, etc., etc.

My favorite "hook up" of the evening, though, happened over the berries. I happened to go for a smackeral at the same time as one of the New York ad executives. She and I chatted for several minutes about my services, especially the newlywed financial planning services which were such a hit, and we also talked about maybe setting up a little something with the Association of Bridal Consultants networking group which I am a co-director of. I told her that I'd be more than happy to provide quotes or whatever they needed if they ever did have articles on budgeting or finances in their magazines (Brides, Modern Bride, Elegant Bride). Now we'll just see if they take me up on the offer. :)

My other activity this week was phoning all the brides who entered to win the bride's emergency kit at the last wedding faire I participated in. I have had some positive responses from a couple of people so I'm pretty happy about things over all. Tomorrow, I have another show and will add to the list of people I need to follow up with hopefully.

For that show, I am doing things a little different. I have made up some yummy jasmine bath salt favors which I plan to give to brides who kindly fill out a little survey I've created on wedding planning. I figure it is a great way to show them some *love* and get some help with marketing plans, etc. I'm still going to have a Bride's Emergency Kit to give away as well.

Final bit of excitement for my business - I finished my trademark application today. I need to call and make a couple of corrections and forward a copy of my mark to the filing firm as well as a brochure I use and possibly a screen shot of my website once we have it dressed and ready to go which should be very soon. Very exciting stuff.

As for Mark, as usual, he's studying like a madman. What is unusual is that he rarely comes home before 8 p.m. because he has to work in the clinic on his patients now. It's kind of a bummer. Since he's also in a review class for his next board exam (in November, I think), I hardly see him. I'm fortunate that I have lots to keep me busy with my business and what not. I can't imagine not seeing him very much and having nothing to occupy my time with!

Oh, we also got our tickets purchased for our friends' Jason and Jackie's wedding. It will be taking place on August 26 in Maui. Exciting stuff...and perhaps an opportunity if Jackie needs some help on the wedding day for me to get a little more experience. :) If not, at least I'll get to enjoy a beautiful wedding with two sweet people who are finally taking the plunge!

I think that is about it for now. I need to get back to finishing stuff up for the bridal show. I have to run to the store to finish up an Emergency kit and I need to go get some clipboards for the survey I'm going to have people fill out. I haven't decided if I really want to deal with printing it at Kinko's or not. I may just print it on our computer. It sure seems like it would be easier given the fiascos that run rampant in that place!

Until next time then!

Bridal Show Picture

It looks like I forgot to post the picture of my booth. Oops.

Here you go! I wish I had more pictures, but I was so busy and then so ready to go home that it just didnt' happen. Maybe next time. :)

Let's Say Thanks

Just found out about this a bit ago. Go to www.letssaythanks.com and send a card to one of those brave individuals who are out there keeping us safe so we can enjoy silly radio contests, bridal shows and anniversarys (which, by the way, did we mention ours is in a few days - the ticker is almost done ticking at the bottom of the page!). :)

Will I Be the First Elevator Pitch Idol?

If you're willing to get out there and vote for me, it's possible! :) So, I discovered yesterday, as I mentioned, that my little radio appearance, which I've also learned wasn't live (this may be helpful next time I do this), was an entry into an American Idol-like contest....which means that although the judges have a say in the final outcome, you can make a big difference as far as my chances for winning!

The original airing of my first attempt will occur on August 12 at 7p.m. EST/4p.m. PST (I'm going to guess those of you in the central and mountain time zones are good with math and can figure out when it's on in your neck of the woods!). You can listen to it via live feed or via the radio by finding a station close to you or if you can't make either of those work, you can listen to it via a previously recorded thing here beginning Monday, August 14. Now here's the deal, though - whatever way you listen, you have to help me out by going to www.startupnation.com and signing up to be a community member so you can vote for me prior to August 20 so I make it to the next round!

What's in it for you, you say? Well, first the warm fuzzies that come from helping me out. :) Second, if you've ever thought of starting your own business or even have one now, you'll gain access to a wealth of information on a variety of business related topics (this site has been great for me while starting up my little ol' business!). Third, you'll have my undying gratitude.

I'm not exactly sure what the prize is for this contest yet, but the added exposure being on the show can have for my business is priceless. :) Hope you all have a great weekend!

The Bridal Show....

Well, it's finally time for me to let you know how the bridal show went last weekend (and we'll throw in a few other choice tidbits, too).

We'll start off kind of backwards. I learned today that the elevator pitch I gave last Friday (I think I told you about it) is an entry into an American Idol style elevator pitch contest at www.startupnation.com. You all have to go sign up on the site for membership and vote for me! :) Also, they apparently pre-record shows. The one I recorded will air on 8/12 and you can find where/when at www.startupnation.com/radio. I'll give more details as I get 'em! :)

Mark and I went to see the Broadway musical "Rent" on Tuesday night. Interesting....that's all I'll say because there are many people who are fans of it. We weren't really...we left halfway through. Since we'd won the tickets, we didn't feel to guilty about leaving especially since I had to be up early the next day. At any rate, it was nice to go and do something together so we're not complaining too much.

Another couple of details, I now have a partial business website (still under construction in many ways!) and I'm advertising on two online wedding planning sites - Wedplan and Wedding Solutions. If you're feeling like taking a peak, please do....for the ad sites, you'll need to give a zip code of 94541 in the consultant/coordinator section (or on Wedding Solutions alone, the financial services section) to find me. I'll be pretty easy to spot in both cases once you get there. Please let me know what you think! :)

And, now a little info about the bridal show - it was great! I received 85 entries for my bridal emergency kit and newlywed financial planning package gift certificate. They will all be receiving the first edition of my newsletter as well as a quick phone call to follow-up and answer any quesstions they might have about planning their wedding, using my services, etc. In preparation for this task, I just signed us up for long distance today. We've pretty much always just used our cell phones for this purpose, but now we're going to go way over our minutes if we adopt that strategy!

Now as far as logistics, we did have some frustration over the business cards and magnets I ordered not showing up on time. And, then, there were the brochures which were folded backwards. I'm not feeling too confident in the abilities of Kinkos, my friends. Luckily, I had Mark to help me refold enough brochures for the show. And, at least I won't even need to contemplate whether or not I need business cards, magnets or brochures for the next.

At any rate, overall things went well...so much so that I'm signed up for the show in January as well. If you're interested, there's a picture of my booth which you can see by clicking here. There was a great response to the newlywed financial planning as well. In fact, I may be doing a workshop at the next bridal show One of the ladies who works for the show loved the service and thought it would be perfect as a workshop. This same person also was in disbelief when I told her this was my first show ever. There's a compliment if I've ever heard one! :)

The show was also an excellent networking opportunity. I met with tons of great photographers, venues, videographers and even a muscian who I may work for part-time managing the business side of his wedding performances in exchange for access to all of his bridal leads and expertise in the business. I tell you, some people gave me "the look" when they heard I was a CPA and MBA, but most, were absolutely on board. I have so many appointments I need to schedule now with vendors as well as people I need to call back.

It was also a great time to check out the competition. There were two other wedding consultants there. One was right on the other side of the curtain from me. I actually picked up her information and I have to tell you, I don't know how she lives with the rates she's charging! They are about a third of mine...but then, the services she offers aren't as inclusive. She also may not be trying to tap into the affluent market as I am.

I also have several people who seemed quite interested in discussing my services with me further. One was a mom who was checking things out for her daughter. She adored my booth. I hope to hear from them soon...which I will or they'll hear from me. For the most part, the people who were interested in my services signed up for the bride's emergency kit. So, I have their contact information... I had another couple who wants a destination wedding - they want to take a cruise and stop at a port with a mission and get married and then continue on their way. Another is looking for someone to just step in on the day and handle things (they have the planning under control since the groom is an event producer). I could go on, but you get the idea that I was well-received...and it gave me some great confidence.

So, I'm looking forward to the next one on August 6 and I'm thinking it should be a lot less hectic than this one. I need to get another emergency kit put together as well as some door prizes. I may also do some little "favors" to get people to stop by my booth. Anyone want to suggest something inexpensive that I could put together in the next week? I had a suggestion of bobby pins in tulle, but I'm not sure I'm interested in that. If I had tons of time or tons of friends to put to work, I would love to do some fizzy bath bombs like I did for Christmas, but I'm not sure I have the stamina to make 300-500 of those by myself. If anyone would like to volunteer, feel free to come on over and help out with that! :)

So, more details on a lot of things....to come! Hope all is well with all of you!

He Passed!

Yes, dear friends and family, it is official! Mr. Mark is one step closer to being Dr. Mark - how cool is that?! :)

We just saw his scores this morning and we are both on cloud nine. The only thing that tempers the joy is that some of Mark's classmates didn't fare as well...

Today's the big day for taping the Startup Nation elevator pitch segment. :) I'm doing my best to run through "my lines" so that I'm ready to wow Jeff, Rich and the rest of the gang.

And, today is countdown to bridal fair day, too. Lots of little things need to be wrapped up like buying some photo frames creating some signs and checking in on our web site prospects (unfortunately, there may be an issue with transferring the domain name....*sigh*) so it may not be up in time for the show participants, but I'm hopeful. Keep your fingers crossed for me!

Change in Format

As you all know, I have been busy getting Winsome Events up and running full speed. As a result, my "free time" is limited and as such I won't be able to post hear nearly as often as I might like to (for there are tons of interesting things going on with Mark and I!). I discussed at some point in the past that I might eventually give up on my trying to write everything here in third person story format and today's the day that I've decided to do it. :) It's so much easier to write from first person perspective than it is to write from third person and it's a bit more personal so welcome to the new and improved format. :)

As I am writing this, Mark is attending to his last three clinic entrance exams. I decided to stay here at the school (I had to rush over with his lab jacket without which he would have not been able to take the test!) since he expected that he'd be finished in an hour or less. I am in no way dressed in a manner that makes me want to be in public, but sometimes necessity requires that we let our prissy inhibitions go and save our mate! At any rate, hopefully Mark will bounce back into the Student Services lounge soon. If not, at least I have blogging to keep me occupied.

There are so many things going on with me and the business lately. I met with a really great photographer (I think I mentioned this) his week and she generously offered to provide as many pictures as I'd like for my website. We love Lucie - have a look at her website at www.luciexyz.com. We plan to take her up on her offer, but we're hoping that a majority of the pictures will actually come from friends. So many of you had beautiful weddings and we'd love to share a little bit of your day with the world. Of course we will give your photographer credit. If you'd like to part of our weddings on parade showcase, please email me. :)

Speaking of the website, my designer is working hard to have something up and running by tomorrow. I'm excited! It will incorporate the design scheme that you had a taste of a few posts ago. As soon as it's up and running, I'll be sure to let you all know. We wanted to have at least something in the interim to let brides that meet me at the bridal show on Saturday and Sunday see.

Ah the bridal show....it's coming along. I finished printing a ton of entry forms today. I'm hopeful that I won't be printing tons of them on Saturday evening. :) I plan to stop by Longs today to get a few picture frames that I saw and really liked, although, I just remembered that Bed Bath and Beyond has fabulous frames as do places like Macy's and the like so I'm going to go check those out to help with drawing attention to my little space.

I am fearful that my business cards may not arrive on time. I am surely hopeful that this is not the case, but if so, I at least have 2500 brochures with my contact information that will be finished tomorrow evening. I also have a thousand of those cool little magnets that have a business card on them to hand out. to some of the people. They were kind of an accidental purchase, but they'll be useful in the long run, I'm sure! I am not getting to use the nice business cards that I had made this time around due to issues with printing. I'm not sure what happened, but no one was printing out a nice product. It was very distressing to say the least. Lucie, the dear photographer that we adore, has an excellent printer who she's going to refer me to.

In more bridal show news, I am scheduled to exhibit at another at the Hilton in Pleasanton on August 6. I'm hopeful that this one will be a little less hectic in the preparation phase, but perhaps not. At least I won't have to find table decorations, make brochures or anything of that sort. I just have to have them printed and that is pretty easy. Did I mention that my brochures will be pink? :) My biggest challenge will again be the business cards. I'm hoping they won't be too much of a challenge, though.

I will be the only consultant at this particular bridal faire and I will be one of the first people that brides see. This is good in some ways and not so good in others, perhaps. They'll see me first before their minds have been clouded by countless photographers, caterers and the like, but they'll soon have their minds clouded and will forget all about me! I plan to offer a drawing of some sort (perhaps another bride's emergency kit like I'm doing at the current fair) to encourage them to sign up for my newsletter so that I can remind them of me and what I have to offer them. Then again, I'm a pretty memorable consultant (and the only one at this show). With any luck the layout will be such that they see me on their way out, too....so perhaps being first and last will be a benefit. :)

In other non-bridal show news, I am planning to sign up with a Business Network International group this next week. I attended one of their meetings yesterday and really enjoyed the exuberance of the group. They are all engery-filled fun people. This particular group has several people who are an excellent match for my wedding consulting business including a hair and make-up artist, a florist, and even another party planner who specializes in upscale non-wedding events.

Finally, I will be on a national radio show tomorrow afternoon/evening (depending on where you are in the country). If you've heard of me speak of Startup Nation (Is! You still need to tell me your community name so I can introduce you there!), that is the show I'll be on. If not, it's great for those of us who are starting our own business ventures. I would highly recommend you check out startupnation.com. At any rate, I've been invited to give an elevator pitch - a one minute opportunity (while you're on an elevator of course) to create buzz about your business in the hopes of obtaining outside funding. I'm very excited about this opportunity and have the perfect pitch...I just need to memorize it! They have a podcast of their latest show on their website every week so I'll be sure to let you know where to find it and listen to me pitch "the boys" and get some feedback on my content and style. I'm excited about the opportunity to gain some national exposure for my planning services - especially the newlywed financial planning services which I am trademarking. Wish me luck!

Hmmm...Mark's still not back yet and I've run out of things to say (amazing, I know!). So, we'll call this good for today and go see if there are any emails that I need to attend to. Hope you're all doing well and keeping as cool as possible.

The Week in Review...

As you can probably guess, things are hoppin' here in Roccoland...hence, posting is very infrequent, but we're trying to at least get you an update on a weekly basis here. This one could be a long one since we've had a lot happen...and we've spent a lot of money, too!!

First of all, MeLissa discovered that she could indeed still exhibit at the Santa Clara Wedding Faire on July 22 and 23! Very exciting stuff we have to tell you! This particular show has approximately 3000 people venture through the numerous booths. MeLissa is looking forward to her first *big* opportunity to tell the world about her cool new services....especially the financial planning for newlyweds. She's been busy getting all her materials together including a giveaway gift perfect for any bride - an emergency kit. The kit has almost everything any bride might need on her wedding day. From baby powder (perfect for covering a stain on a white wedding dress) to a little bit of chocolate (a surefire cure for any moment of stress!), this gift is sure to be a hit! We'll be sure to let you know how it goes once all is said and done!

Another important happening was that Mark took his clinic entrance practical exam. He did very well and only has to retake 3 sections next week. He's got lots of company - only 2 of his classmates made it through unscathed. Since he passed all of the things that he was a bit worried about and only made mistakes that were "silly" in things he knows very well, we're pretty sure he'll be donning that white lab coat very soon! The retest is this week!

In preparation for MeLissa's bridal show, we went through quite a process to find a company to print her business cards (which are quite fabulous if she does say so herself!). We finally found that Kinko's would do it and that an actual human being would look at it. Yea! :) We figure we'll have them run off several copies of MeLissa's wedding and financial services information as well...

We also have some additional good news as a result of our trip to the bridal show last week. It may even make up for losing her wallet last week. So, first of all, she's going to have lunch with a photographer she met at the show last week. Her name is Lucie and she has some very neat features to her service including providing a few "min-photo books" to her clients as part of their photography package. We love Lucie! And, to top it all off, MeLissa had entered a contest to win free laser hair removal and won. Can you say bye by shaving? She can't wait! :)

This entry seems to be all about MeLissa. Since Mark is in class most of the day, and since you know who ends up writing this blog, it's a little slanted...we suppose you all don't mind too much. Starting a new business is an exciting thing!

At any rate, MeLissa also had her first meeting with the two other co-directors for the East Bay Networking Group for the Association of Bridal Consultants. She'll be working with two talented ladies who are full of great ideas. All three of us are looking forward to making things fun and exciting for members of the ABC who live and work here in the East Bay. Now her challenge is to create a list of potential sites for them to have their first function...while trying to keep up with her bridal show preparations. It should make for some very exciting days!

If this isn't enough excitement for you, we also got our half a cow yesterday....yummy! We enjoyed our first meal last night and it was so gooood. ;) We won't be short on beef any time soon...and the best part is that we didn't have to drive to far to get it since the people we bought it from were heading our way. :)

Finally, before we give you a preview of what the next week holds in store for us, we went last night to Best Buy and found a laptop that can help both MeLissa and Mark out. It will ultimately be MeLissa's business machine, but since Mark needs something to type his notes into, we're going to let him have the use of it for a while here. It's a great machine and we're looking forward to using it! :) After we made our purchase, we took a little trip to Santana Row (since we were there to buy the computer - our typical store was out of the ones we wanted) and enjoyed live music and some Ben and Jerry's treats. Yum!

So, with respect to the following week, MeLissa will be doing a lot of bridal show preparation as you can imagine. Mark will be doing his pre-clinic test and will be at school. Then next weekend, we'll both hop on over to the show and see if we can make some impressions. Exciting stuff! We hope you're all doing well! Until next time...

Our Weekend!

We had a pretty good weekend, but it wasn't perfect. Everything was peachy keen until we found out that MeLissa lost her wallet in San Jose - bummer! That kind of put a bit of a damper on things.

But, let's not focus on the unhappy things shall we? Rather, let's discuss all the good stuff that happened beginning with the fact that the Winsome Events stationery is done! Done, done, done! Woo Hoo. It's very nice and we'll probably share it with you eventually, but for now, hopefully you'll enjoy a peak at her new logo. Pretty in pink...just like the wallet we're not going to mention anymore. ;)

So, this weekend was pretty nifty in that we visited the Before-I-Do bridal show in San Jose. While there we met quite a few great vendors...one of whom MeLissa plans to form a lasting partnership with. We'll be discussing that more in the future probably. We also learned that there is another bridal show in a couple of weeks. MeLissa is going to try to get herself in as an exhibitor...it's down to the wire, but they might just go for it, and if so, it will be an excellent way to meet some potential clients and let them know how she can make their day (and hopefully their marriage!) a pleasant affair with as few hassles and financial squabbles as possible.

In conjunction with this outing, we visited a diner called Peggy Sue's (the last place we saw the wallet we're not mentioning) for a superb strawberry shake and rootbeer float refresher. They were super good. :) We also just wandered around San Jose a little bit.

Today, Mark started back to school. He's pretty excited since (once he's passed one more test), he'll be able to start helping patients. That's pretty exciting!

MeLissa was a busy bee today, too. She is writing up her business plan (it's in her head but she'd like to have it on paper!) and she also set up an arrangement to advertise on Wedding Solutions' website for the next year - now we just need that website which is coming, we assure you - it will be here before you know it and it will be wonderful! As soon as it's available for viewing, you can be sure that you'll be invited.

Another piece of very exciting news - our half cow is ready! We're terribly excited about all yummy beef we'll be eating very soon. We'll probably be taking a bit of a road trip this weekend using the GPS (nicknamed the "precious" by Mark) so we won't get lost. Then we'll bring it home and put it in the trusty freezer we bought last weekend. And, then, the fun begins...we're going to be eating around 300 pounds of cow over the next year - when can we expect you for dinner?

The Final Colorado Pictures (and some other interesting tidbits!)

Here's the last set of Colorado pictures - yea! :) I think I may have figured out what has to be done to get more than a few pics in a post, too...so this may have been a good lesson for future trips! Onto the remaining photos:


We'll start out with a few scenic shots (some of which are slanted, but given that Mark took them, we know you'll agree it just adds to the beauty of the photo...very photojournalistic, don't you agree?





These photos are primarily of our trip to Colorado Springs from Canon City via Hwy 50 and then Hwy 115 on our last day in Colorado. They aren't really in order, but they're all beautiful in their own way. The more "prairie"-looking shots are on Hwy 50...




































MeLissa loves the look of red clay with tons of greenery. It's probably why the Garden of the Gods (which we were unable to visit this trip) is one of her favorites places. Speaking of the Garden of the Gods, that was the location of our engagement photo shoot.



We had some truly lovely scenery...you can see one of the pictures here (at what used to be the welcome message on our site). And, speaking of our engagement, today marks the 3rd anniversary of the day that Mark made MeLissa get up much to early so that the ring he'd been holding onto wouldn't burn a big hole in his pocket! You can read all about how romantic it was as well as how we became a couple here.


More scenery...









Here's a shot of General Palmer on his trusty steed in Downtown Colorado Springs. What you can't see is that people drive around it every day....it's kind of a nuisance, but he'd sure be missed if they ever moved him (and they've thought about it on several occasions!)




Here's a shot across from the Souper Salad where we had lunch twice. You can see (if you look closely) the mall behind the pine trees. :)








Last but certainly not least (just ask her!) here's Pixie experiencing the bliss of some kitty love after "mom and dad" were gone for so long. She's one happy kitty in that picture. :)

Colorado Pictures - Part II

In the much awaited (well, okay, it's only been a couple of minutes probably) sequel to our 1st set of Colorado pictures, you'll notice, perhaps, a recurring theme...a lot of them were taken while we were driving. In most cases, Mark did the photo taking (which we do realize is probably best and which explains why many of the photos are crooked...he did his best without being able to see what he was taking a picture of). There are a couple, which we aren't sharing where MeLissa tried...they're pretty funny....especially the one of Mark's nose in close-up. Nevertheless, we figure we'll show you those photos you might actually want to see...so on with the show already!
First up - the promise picture of Doug and Leah from our wedding. See, she's a cutie. We likes her.








Scenic views on the way home from Denver and Castle Rock









More scenery...this is why we love Colorado...when you're stuck in traffic, you have pretty things to look at.








MeLissa driving...as usual (and wearing a CSU-Pueblo Alumni shirt...a very nice addition to the wardrobe - Thanks Laura!








Mark's photo of himself...reminiscent of The Fonze...don't you think?






Okay - this is annoying...blogger isn't going for more pictures...so one more post or two and I'll get the rest of the good ones up. Patience is a virtue, right? ;)

Colorado Pictures - Part I

Here's our solution to blogger being a pain and not letting us post pictures in the post. Buggers.

Here's Mark the last night of our trip eating the last of the allergy-causing gelato.









Here's Chris at dinner our first night in Colorado. We went for the uber-classy Village Inn just so we could enjoy one last meal in the "Non-Smoking section that has more smoke in it than the Smoking section which is all of 20 feet away." We're not going to miss it when we come back for Christmas (God willing) and we don't have to answer the question "smoking or non?" (Colorado has been smoke-free for 3 days folks!)




Here's Mark, Laura and MeLissa at the CSU-Pueblo Alumni office.







Here's a picture of "The Doug" from our shopping trip to Whole Foods. We have a picture of "The Leah" but it doesn't do her justice so we're keeping it to ourselves. Perhaps in part two we'll put up one from our wedding of her...






Here's the lovely velociraptor we drove by every time we returned to Christopher's house in Canon...he's ferocious.








View from the cute house with baggage that we saw in Canon City. Perty, eh?








Mom at the house with baggage.








Dad at the house with too much baggage.









Grandma








Mark and Christopher







More to come in Part II (blogger won't let us add anymore to this post).

Our Adventure to Lovely Colorado...and what we've been up to since.

:P Blogger is yet again preventing the upload of pictures so another post with the pretties will be forthcoming. Grr.
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We had a wonderful time in Colorado visiting family and friends. Our only complaint about our trip? It was, as usual, much to short. We missed a few people and so we'll just have to come back and do it again. ;) We were in Colorado from June 20 through June 27, but we have some pre- and post-trip photos we think you'll also enjoy including this one of Mark enjoying the last of the allergy-causing gelato. We think it was the marscarpone flavor.

And now, on to the trip - we flew out Tuesday morning. Our flight was a bit late and MeLissa wasn't feeling so well. We made it to Phoenix for our lay over and MeLissa went out to see what our next gate was. Denver, Denver, Denver she was saying as she looked for it. She found the gate and since we had a 20 minute window to make our next flight we started hot-footing it. We made it to what MeLissa thought was the correct gate and then she realized we were next door to the appropriate one. We maneuvered over and the flight attendant said they'd start boarding for Denver. Has anyone yet caught on that we were in the wrong place?

Yep. We were supposed to be flying to Colorado Springs. We tried, but we didn't make it to the right gate in time. Ooops. We had to go stand-by for our next flight. Thankfully, we made it on that flight and didn't have to wait for the next one which would have been arriving pretty late. During our wait, we decided we should eat something. Silly us, though, we didn't actually bring much food with us so we had to go through the torture of finding something - anything - that MeLissa could eat.

This food foraging was no easy task (surprise, surprise!). We know you're all just amazed about that one. ;) MeLissa bought Mark a sandwich from Quizzno's. And, then, after searching high and low, she found Nachoes with "normal" (rather than processed) cheese at the Fox Sports bar in the airport. MeLissa did her usual grilling of the waitress and was assured that there was no garlic on the grilled chicken. So she ordered them. Naturally, when they arrived (as is frequently the case), MeLissa immediately smelled garlic, but she was hungry so she ate them knowing that that next flight was not going to be a fun time. And, it wasn't. Nausea and an allergic reaction...not a good combo, friends.

We finally made it to Colorado where MeLissa handsome little brother, Christopher, (dressed in his dress whites which we really should have gotten a better picture of - darn it all!) was waiting at the airport to pick us up. He took us to his house where we began to settle in.

Anyhow, we hung out and then went to dinner and came home and watched Wedding Crashers. Very funny flick....and perfect for MeLissa, right? We watched another, Just Like Heaven, a couple of nights later and it is one of MeLissa's favorites now.

We think it was the first night that MeLissa also took the ASVAB just for kicks. Chris been pretty frustrated with the potential recruits lately. He had one person get an 8. You need a 35 to get into the Navy. These are not hard questions folks. We're talking basic vocabulary, paying attention and math skills for the most part. At any rate, MeLissa took the test late at night when tired and scored a 90. She qualifies for nuclear stuff. Very cool. ;) Chris had other setbacks that week as far as recruiting went. He had two guys ready to go in and then one came down with gall stones and the other's father wouldn't sign the consent form. We felt pretty bad for the guy. He is seriously missing his ship!

The next day (Wednesday) we went to Pueblo to visit people from MeLissa's college including Laura in the Alumni office who kindly gave MeLissa an Alumni T-shirt, sticker and bandana. Then we had a nice visit and dinner at a Mexican restaurant with some of MeLissa's friends - Amy and Doug. They had just had a baby a couple of days before. Little Nathan and his big sister Olivia came along for dinner, too!

The other activity for the day was outfitting the brother's kitchen with a bunch of useful stuff like baking dishes, mixing bowls, etc. He was a happy camper when he saw all that....especially the grilling tools!

On Thursday, we went to Colorado Springs (so much for MeLissa not having to drive all over during this trip - she did almost every day) and visited an Optometrist that specializes in low vision aids just to see if there was something he could recommend for Mark. Unfortunately, there wasn't, but we're looking forward to networking with him when we get back. The interesting thing about this doctor is that he is actually losing his vision. He is legally blind like Mark, but just like Mark he hasn't let that stop him. In fact, he just won Optometrist of the Year in Colorado...how's that for inspiration folks?

We then had lunch with Marilyn at Mimi's Cafe (yum, yum, yum!). Before lunch, MeLissa found a couple of really cute purses for $10 total. Gotta love it. We then made a visit to Pat, another friend of ours. Finally, we visited Aunt Jo and Uncle Clyde. They had some koi living in a water fountain and were a little grumpy that raccoons were coming to feast. Mark tells the story well - be sure to ask him about it! He definitely found humor in that first meeting!

The next day, we headed back up to Colorado Springs for another day of fun. My youngest brother, Doug, and his adorable girlfriend, Leah (whom we also don't have a great picture of other than from our wedding), came with us. We took a tour of the north end of Colorado Springs which is much further north than it used to be and visited a coffee shop owned by one of our friends for a little Italian Soda (he actually provided these for our wedding). We also made a stop at the Rocky Mountain Chocolate factory to pick up some caramel apples - one of our favorite treats! We then stopped by Whole Foods and grabbed stuff for dinner and our BBQ the next day. We ate dinner and sent them on their way.

On Saturday MeLissa's family came up from Lamar and we had a little BBQ and Christmas in June. It was fun getting to open Christmas and wedding presents that they'd been saving for us. We roasted a chicken on the grill and made pasta salad, cucumber salad, zucchini and other goodies to accompany it. It was an attempt to show MeLissa's dear family that despite her allergies, she's hardly starving! :) It was a great day - we even went on a little drive and found this cute little homestead (which we've since learned comes with some unwanted baggage).

On Sunday, we headed to Denver to see MeLissa's buddy Laura and her mom. We bummed around Park Meadows mall (one of MeLissa's favorites!) and then after a bit we returned to Colorado Springs (with a stop at the outlet mall in Castle Rock where we partook of some Rocky Mountain Chocolate factory goodies) to see another set of friends, Buck and Lyndsay, who'd just had a baby boy, Ridge. Apparently boys are "in" this year. ;) It took us a while to get there since traffic was pretty bad due to a couple of accidents on the highway. We made use of our time by snapping various shots of beautiful Colorado (and the top of the car, noses, fingers, etc. - Mark was taking photos and it yielded some amusing things). :) We stayed at Buck and Lyndsays pretty late and then drove back to Canon City in a really icky rain storm. It was a little scary...but we made it okay. We were sure tired when we got there.

On Monday were back in Colorado Springs again (as you can see, MeLissa's goal to minimize travel all over pretty much was a bust). We visited with a few people on this day. First, we visited with a chiropractor (Dr. Scott) that Mark considers one of his mentors. Then, we caught a glimpse of Brent, a friend who handles graduation stationery and what not for most of the southeastern part of Colorado. Then we took a little visit out to Peyton, Colorado to see Sarah who was the MOH in our wedding. She, too, had a new baby boy - Bryson. What's different about her story is that they were expecting a girl! Apparently Bryson is a trickster (or very modest) and did a great job of hiding a very important part of his anatomy during ultrasounds and what not. He and his brother Carsen were fun to watch and it was nice visiting with Sarah in their new home.

Then was the best part of the day - we had dinner with MeLissa's parents. This was our solution to keep grandma from totally going nuts on Saturday (she was quite eager to get home!). We enjoyed a nice long talk after and got home pretty late, but it was worth it.

We came back to California the next day after lunch with Pat. She gave us a lovely pillow (that MeLissa thinks she might try to make a few more of) as a belated-wedding present. With respect to the trip home, things were a bit tense at times (late flights and such), but everything worked out okay and we made it home, if a little late. We're not too sure we'll be flying US Airways again after all the fiascos, though...

When we came home, we found Pixie pacing the floors as usual. She gets to be a bit neurotic when we're gone, but thankfully, our sweet friend Bonnie had volunteered to visit her and feed her daily while we were away. Bonnie was rewarded with an assortment of Rocky Mountain Chocolates (what else?!) and our gratitude. Pixie was rewarded with a lot of petting from Mark. According to Mark she's gotten all the petting she's going to get for the next 3 months. ;)

One of the most exciting things that has happened since we returned is MeLissa now has a business card. It has a couple of little tweaks that need to be taken care of but that is it. It is just perfect for the image she wants to portray and will really make a great website design, too, with minor modifications. We're very excited about that and we'll share at some point.

This weekend, we were very productive (it's not over yet, but we were!). Yesterday we bought a GPS system (which MeLissa then proceeded to show how much she needed by getting lost twice in the next two hours) and a freezer for the half of a cow that should be coming to stay with us (cut and ready to eat - yum!) in the next week or so. We were pretty fortunate on the freezer (we didn't do too poorly with the GPS either) because we found a clearance model at Home Depot.

The only issue was that they couldn't deliver it. You had to haul it yourself using one of their rental trucks (or your own if you had it, but we don't!) and so we did that. This provided MeLissa's first opportunity to demonstrate that the GPS unit was a good buy. We made it home, unloaded the freezer with the help of Ladarrin our newest neighbor (who's earned himself a good steak). We were very fortunate that he came out when he did because the dolly we'd bought to get the freezer out of the truck had a flat tire. This wasn't the only fiasco related to the freezer, though. Before that, we'd realized we'd left our "clicker" in the Saturn and therefore had to wait for someone to open the gate to our community and, since MeLissa doesn't have a key to the house on her keychain (she just uses the clicker usually), we were going to have to leave it in the driveway. Silly gooses that we are.

On our way to returning the truck was when we got lost the first time (not much but a little) and then, when we were coming home was the second. We figure there will be a lot less of that with MeLissa's new toy which we figured we'd better get her since she's going to be driving all over for the wedding and event business.

We hope you enjoyed this dissertation about our trip and what's been going on since. We'll try to be a little more timely in posting things in the future. :)

Picture Recap - Last Day at Work...

We haven't yet shared the pictures of MeLissa's last day at the office (June 15, 2006) so here goes. Next up will be a recap complete with pictures of our trip to Colorado. On to the photo show!

First up, here's what MeLissa saw as she walked from the parking lot into the office every morning. It really was a pretty nice building. The shame is that we don't have a picture of the courtyard area...very pretty place that. A fountain, lots of flowers and all the squirrels you could ever desire (to look at not to eat) for those of you who know that one gets to the cafeteria via the courtyard.

On her last day, MeLissa's coworkers treated her to lunch at Sweet Tomaotes (a salad bar buffet place). In this picture you see (from left to right) Diane, Regina, MeLissa (of course!), Mina and Amy. Roger was behind the camera...

That afternoon, the tax team treated her to a little farewell party complete with cake she shouldn't have eaten, but did. It was pretty good cake...perhaps because she hadn't had a piece of cake for almost a year! Here's a picture with most of the team - Amy, Regina, Mark (MeLissa's boss!), Spiro, Regina-2, MeLissa, Laurie and the elusive (at lunch) Roger! This time Gary, the VP was behind the camera and several other camera shy people opted to not jump in the photo.

So, there you have it - a few of the best photos from MeLissa's last day as an employee of someone other than herself!

A Tribute to Uncle Bob and Aunt Ruth...

Sad news in Roccoland today. We just learned that around 1ish Colorado-time, MeLissa Aunt Ruth and Uncle Bob died in a fatal car accident. Rather than lament their passing, we're going to celebrate their lives with happy memories and stories. And, to do so, MeLissa's popping back into first person because it's just weird to write in the third about your beloved aunt and uncle.

These two people whom I spent more time with as a child than most children have a chance to spend time with are dear to me despite their flaws. I won't say that sometimes I was very frustrated over those flaws, but despite them, they loved me and they were people I could count on if ever in need. They were so good to my family, too. I don't remember ever feeling anything but acceptance and love from them and I appreciate that so much.

When I was young, I remember they lived in a house on a street which I can not remember (Parmenter maybe?), but I remember the house and would recognize it should I ever drive by. My aunt and uncle let me come stay and play with them. My aunt taught me how to macrame. I believe it was she who helped me finish my first plant hanger... I also remember baking cookies and even finding a snake (of which I was deathly afraid - just a garter snake, but still!) with her.

I remember that when my family fell on difficult times (when weren't times difficult actually?), they graciously accepted us as guests for Thanksgiving. I remember my aunt's pumpkin roll...a dream come true of a dessert that we could never get enogh of. And then, there was that mocha cinnamon cake. Can you say to die for? We never left hungry when we came to visit my aunt and uncle...

When I left for college, I remember the sweetness of my Aunt Ruth. She corresponded with me for a while to help me feel closer to home. I still have some of the letter, I think...

As I got older, I rarely saw them...only when I came home to visit if they happened to stop in at my father's appliance store to visit. We also were able to see them for a short time at our home-town reception for our wedding in Lamar the day after the wedding. That was the last time I saw them.

My heart is heavy knowing I'll have to wait until I go to heaven to see them again. The circumstances of their passing are not clear so I also feel sad that we have no guarantee that they died quickly and without suffering. All that we know is my uncle was thrown from the truck and it rolled. In their memory, I ask you to be cautious when driving, slow down and wear your seatbelt at all times. Do it not only for yourself, but your family.

Enjoy the fluffy clouds and sunshine and labor no more dear Aunt Ruth and Uncle Bob - you will be missed by many. Thanks for your kindness and the fond memories you leave behind.