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!