I submit...my blog

Guilty Pleasure - The Millionaire Matchmaker

2010-03-18T12:01:00.001-07:00

So I'm not usually one for reality shows - but I am absolutely IN LOVE with The Millionaire Matchmaker on Bravo. Her name is Patti Stanger and she is a cross between my two friends Kathy and Liza (for those of you who know them, you will can't deny it). She owns The Millionaie's Club, which is a matchmaking company for, what else, millionaires. She is so blunt it's rude, but she's always always right. Usually what she does is interview several candidates for a "mixer" and introduces the millionaire to them and lets them pick. More often than not, if the millionaire picks someone she thinks is not a good match (she throws those ones in there for temptations sake, you know the type, bleach-blonde bimbos usually), the date ends badly. The show is sometimes over the top, fixing up gay couples and what-not (last week one of the millionaire's was "bi-curious", the other one was an adorable farmer from Indiana that I would contemplate leaving my husband for), but Patti is uncommonly old-fashioned. Not by Mormon standards, mind you, but by the worlds standards definitely. She has this code of conduct - no lying, cheating and so forth--and if you don't live by it you're out of the club. My favorite rule is that you are not allowed to have sex until you are in a serious, MONOGAMOUS, relationship. How often do you see that on television? Ummmm never. The show is hilarious (I recommend audiences ages 17 and up), and is definitely my telivision guilty pleasure. The show is on Bravo, or you can watch on bravotv.com.

Akiane - Child Prodigy

2010-01-21T10:31:00.000-08:00

http://artakiane.com/gallery.html

It is impossible look at this girl's amazing talent and not clearly see Heavenly Father influence and blessings. If you read her story and descriptions of her paintings there is no question of her faith in God and compassion for mankind. It's truly amazing. She is only 15 now, and her website will show you which paintings she did at what age.

So...apparently I suck at blogging

2010-01-20T13:37:00.000-08:00

Wow...I am not good at keeping this up. Here are some updates: James is now going to school at BYU-I and looking for a good part-time job. So far he is enjoying himself, except his math class. It's that stupid "math for the real world" class, so it's all 14-page story problems. He has a fitness class and an American Foundations (formerly American Heritage) that he goes to with a friend. He is planning on majoring in Healthcare Administration. I am still working at ERA for my dad, and crossing my fingers that business picks up.

A couple of weeks ago James surprised me and got a puppy! Her name is Phoebe. She is struggling with potty training. Melaleuca Pre-Spot (for laundry) seems to be working pretty well on the puppy stains. She is a cute little thing and likes to play with Tirra's giant chocolate lab. The other night she was wrestling with Chris & Kristy's chihuahua mix, Cindy Lou. Cindy Lou is a little smaller and very quick, but we like to think that Phoebe won the sparring match. Our apartment lease ends in July and we are hoping we have our credit straitened out enough that we can buy a house and have our two cats (Brutus and Kratos) come home with us and Phoebe.

All in all James & I still like eachother and don't fight like some other newly-weds have warned us we would. We get along great even though we are struggling financially (who isn't, right?). Sometimes you're the big dog, most of the time you get you're toys snatched away. And the big dog gloats about it.

pictures posted!

2009-09-15T08:39:00.000-07:00

I finally posted some reception pictures on Facebook. Check it out. http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=3585973&l=b44f3f365f&id=623127432
These are the ones that my friend Janel Young took (see her blog address below)

Password!

2009-08-25T08:59:00.000-07:00

Sorry everyone - to see our pictures you can go to http://hymasimage.com/Home/tabid/36/Default.aspx and click on Online Viewing. Our file is labeled "James and Melissa". The password is "wedding" (all lower case). You can order online or call (208) 745-1289 if you want prints.

Quick Update and Pictures

2009-08-21T12:22:00.001-07:00

So I'm finally married and things have settled down enough for me to pop on here and give a brief update. James and I are living in an apartment in Rigby, without our cats. Our landlord wants an additional $400 deposit for us to bring our cats in....we could have a dog, but for cats we have to fork over a small fortune. Weird to anyone else? I guess dogs don't scratch carpet....but cats don't pee everywhere. I am still working at ERA Real Estate, James is looking for a new job because his advertising job just isn't working out. We are looking on Craigslist.com everyday and send out probably 4 or 5 resumes a day....no winners yet. Most of those send you to a job-finding website and make you do that song and dance. It's very frustrating.
We met with the photographer yesterday and did a quick run through of all the pictures she took, now we have to go back through and pick the ones that we love for our book. You can see the pictures at hymasimage.com. If you would like copies, you can order online for 20% off (but Evelyn doesn't do any further editing) or you can call Evelyn with the numbers you want and she will edit them and so forth and still give you 10% off. For candids of the reception, you can see some of them on my awesome friend Janel's blog: youngmom1220.blogspot.com. She took about a zillion and she is going to teach me how to scrap-book them. James's younger brother Kurt's girlfriend Mesa (got that?) took a bunch of pictures too, and I will post some of them here and on Facebook, so watch for those. My cousins Tiffany and Christine took pictures too, and I believe they posted those on Facebook.
It was a wonderful day that James and I will always always always remember and love. Thank you to my wonderful Mother for putting it all together, and my wonderful Dad for letting us go nuts on the party and giving me all the time off of work!

Bridal Burn-Out

2009-07-07T09:04:00.000-07:00

So we are winding down on the wedding plans and I find myself caring less and less about the details. I will give my mother vague ideas of what I think I want, and then follow-up with "I don't care, do whatever you want."

"What kind of flowers do you want?"

"Daisies"

"Ok...what colors?"

"Lime green and yellow"

"Well what about adding some pink and orange? What kind of flowers do you want with the daisies....you can't just have daisies. And what about your bouquet, what do you want that to look like? Do you want lots of flowers or only some flowers?"
"I don't care.....do whatever you want."

We have had similar conversations about the cake, the food at the reception, and countless other details. The great thing is that I completely trust my mother to make it wonderful without me doing anything at all. She could do the whole thing without a single opinion from me and I'm sure I would love it. Our current worry is my dress. We had to order it in my size months ago, and it is supposed to arrive this Friday. Which means we have less than 3 weeks to alter the thing and make it temple worthy. I refuse to wear cap-sleeves. I realize the wedding is during the hottest time of the year, but I tell you I will NOT have cap-sleeves...3/4 or long sleeves. I will not be one of those cookie-cutter Mormon brides with those stupid little sleeves. Plus my arms are Kobe-Bryant-long, and shorter sleeves would just accentuate that....not exactly a feature I want to show off.

After several mix-ups and mishaps, we are finally starting to mail out the invitations...IF I can get my wonderful groom to get addresses for his friends (which I asked him to do months ago...but whatever....get used to it, right?). The invitations are perfect, I absolutely love them--even though we had to jump through hoops to get them done correctly.

And through all of the frustration and anxiety, I am still excited to get married! You should all be receiving invitations shortly, and I hope to see you all there!

Outdoor Engagement Pictures

2009-06-16T10:40:00.000-07:00

Last week James & I had some engagement photos taken. I am currently posting an album of them on my Facebook page. The photographer is Michelle Heaps. I think she did a great job and she's a sweet girl. You can see more of her work at michelleheaps.com.

Pre-Alzheimers!?

2009-06-04T10:27:00.000-07:00

Ok I probably don't have pre-Alzheimers Disease...I don't think that's even a real thing. However, I take so many blasted pills in the morning I often forget which ones I've taken. This morning I started with one pill (maybe?), moved on to the next, and the next, then a vitamin, and then I couldn't remember if I had taken the first pill or not....So I may have taken the first pill twice. I should be in a nursing home. And then there are the side effects. Awesome.
I was recently diagnosed with severe insulin resistance....which I like to blame for my borderline obesity. Nevermind that I don't exercise and eat like a five-year-old when his mom isn't watching. It's all the insulin resistance....right. And I have an elevated thyroid. Now I'm not sure what a thyroid does, but when it's "elevated" it means it's not working hard enough. Call me crazy, but i Does that sound backwards to any one else?? So I have Metformin twice a day for the insulin resistance, and Levothyroxin for the thyroid issue. I also take Effexor because it keeps me happy and sane, and prenatal vitamins because I want my hair to grow faster before my wedding. Even when I skip the vitamns and just have the three, I still can't remember if I took the metformin or not. You know those pill boxes that have a spot for each day? and each is clearly labeled M, T, W, and so forth? I am considering getting one of those. And it really bugs me that I am considering it. I am 26 years old people! Not 76! I should be able to remember if I took a pill or not. Embarrassing. AND THE SIDE EFFECTS! Sometimes Effexor still gives me a headache, and I'm pretty sure the metformin is making me tired. I am tired literally ALL THE TIME! I could sleep until 1:00 in the afternoon and STILL be exhausted. And being exhausted makes me emotional...on top of stress about wedding plans and money and what not... so I cry over EVERYTHING. And I'm not a huge cry-er. Sure I get teary-eyed during movies, or at mission farewells etc., but I rarely cry because of something that happened to me in real life. Or so I thought. Lately I cry all the time. Example: Tuesday morning I woke up at 8:30, I'm supposed to be at work at 9:00. I was going to be late. What did i do? Sat on my bed and cried about it. Not just whimpery tears of frustration...no. We are talking chest-heaving SOBBING because I was going to be late for work. Luckily my boss is amazing (he's my dad) and let me have the day off to rest and get a blasted grip. What's my problem?

My Man Got a New Job!

2009-05-27T15:23:00.000-07:00

Slap my butt and call me Judy! James got a new job selling advertising for a local magazine! Hooray! We were worried we wouldn't be able to afford the house we want to rent, or the car we need, but it's looking like we can! James's friend owns a house in Idaho Falls, and we will be renting for a while while James goes to school (a while while? is that correct English?) at BYU-I (cross your fingers he gets in). We are going to get his new car (a used BMW!)this Saturday, it's about 8 hours away. Hooray for driving 16 hours. I keep telling him he needs to learn how to golf now, since he needs to schmooze people into buying space in the magazine. He doesn't seem to think so. We are really excited to see how this "career move" works out. So we will be expecting all of you independent contractors to buy ads! :)

Gift Registry

2009-05-04T10:06:00.000-07:00

Hey friends! For those of you who are interested - James & I are and/or will be registered at Dillard's, Macy's & Target. The china I picked out is at Macy's, it's really pretty so look and see! LOVE!

Family 5k and Easter Fun

2009-04-13T09:10:00.000-07:00

Saturday was my family's Easter Party. In the morning we had a 5K race. I ran a little and then decided it was stupid (meaning I am out of shape and didn't want to play), and I walked with my parents and Shelese. Erik ended up winning (only because James had a small emergency and couldn't finish), Followed by Kipp, Chris and Tirra.

After lunch it was time for the Easter Egg Hunt. The kids went for a ride on the four-wheelers while the Easter Bunny came. It was lots of fun and a beautiful Easter Day!

IT'S OFFICIAL!

2009-04-10T08:56:00.000-07:00

James and I are officially engaged to be married! We picked out a ring a couple of weeks ago, and last night he finally gave it to me (pictures will be posted soon). He was watching sports on TV and I was laying down on the other end of the couch reading a silly vampire book. He got up (I assumed to go to the bathroom) and when he came back he put the ring box on my left shoulder and sat back down on the couch. He can't be serious when he is nervous...he's like Chandler from Friends. He makes jokes when he is uncomfortable. So he went through a series of poorly worded questions like "So you wanna get married" and just plain "You wanna?". I had to make him ask me nicely: "Melissa, will you marry me?". It was funny and cute. Of course i said YES! The big day is July 31, 2009, in the Rexburg Temple. I can't stop smiling! We have sort of been planning ahead, so we have adorable polka-dot dresses for the flower girls. My colors are bright and summery: mostly lime green and yellow, with bright orange and pink accents. I will have my three wonderful sisters as bridesmaids (Tirra is the matron of honor), and also two of my closest friends from college will be there as bridesmaids too. James's friend Brad will be his best man, and his two brothers and two other best friends will be his groomsmen. We are so excited and so happy!

Can we have Spring yet?

2009-04-03T09:28:00.000-07:00

Seriously.

My Valentine

2009-02-10T08:41:00.001-08:00

Valentine's Day is on Saturday, and James and I have decided not to exchange gifts. I decided not to exchange gifts because we are poor, and James decided not to exchange gifts because of some trumped up idiocy about commercialism and blah blah blah. Sometimes he acts like a cranky old man. Ah....love.

Since the new year began James has been helping me exercise and be more healthy. He has bravely walked the treacherous line between being encouraging and making me feel fat. Occasionally he has to remind me that I ASKED him to help me, and that it was not his idea. And sometimes I remind him that it always helps to tell me I'm beautiful.

A couple of weeks ago I got sick. I had to stay home from work and I was generally miserable. James brought me soup and movies to watch and stayed to take care of me. He kept suggesting that I should take a bath, that it would help make me feel better. I knew it was because I was stinky. He was trying to be nice.

I can honestly say that I am most happy sitting on the couch with James, reading a book while he watches sports. I know that's cheesy, and I'm sure it will wear off eventually, but for now I am enjoying being twitterpated.

Birthday Fun

2008-12-01T09:17:00.000-08:00

Well I had a great birthday this year. On the 21st, my mom and sisters surprised me by throwing a Twilight premiere/Birthday party for me. We got all dressed up and had dinner and went to the movie. Tirra made up a quiz for us about the book/movie, and the girls were nice enough to let me win. Some of those questions were tough! Tirra and Mom bought me a pretty blue dish they found in Ouray, CO, and a Twilight movie companion book (it's really neat--I know...i'm a dork). The next Tuesday James surprised me and took me to see the movie again, and he was cute and liked it. The whole way home he was asking me questions about the books. Then on Saturday the 29th, my actual birthday, we had Thanksgiving part 2 at my parent's house, followed by a surprise from James. He bought me a massage at Essence of You Day Spa --- the hoity toity one by WinCo. It was wonderful! Then he took me to see Four Christmases (very cute, I recommend it). He also bought me new sheets, because my old sheets had holes in them. I have a cute boyfriend. Thanks for all the fun!!

TICKETS

2008-11-06T08:35:00.000-08:00

I BOUGHT OUR MOVIE TICKETS LAST NIGHT!! I got six, so that's Mom, Tirra, Shelese, Kristy, Blyss & me! YAY!!! November 21st, 7:00. We should probably get there at least a 1/2 hour early so we can get decent seats. HOORAY!!

Fanmail from Fandango

2008-10-22T09:03:00.000-07:00

ok - I know the obsession is ridiculous but I don't care and you all have to love me for who I am. So on fandango.com you can sign up to receive an e-mail alert when the tickets you are waiting for go on sale....any guess as to which movie I'm talking about?? TWILIGHT!!!! The neat thing about it is that you can pick which movies you want alerts for, so you're not getting a bunch of e-mail from fandango about movies you don't care to see. I signed up so that when Twilight tickets finally go on sale I can be sure and get tickets for opening night. So those of you who are planning on coming with me need to let me know for sure (again, it's november 21) that you are coming so I can buy your ticket and you can pay me back. I'M SO EXCITED!!

miniature vacation

2008-10-09T11:10:00.000-07:00

So i asked for November 6 through November 10 off of work so i could have a little break before things get really crazy at the mall (Holiday season and what-not). So I am trying to think of what to do with my time. It's hard to think of relatively inexpensive things to do. It's not like I can fly somewhere warm for the weekend. But it might be nice to go see Tirra or Shelese or some girlfriends who live out of state. Then again staying home and not doing anything at all sounds really really good too! Sleeping in...deep cleaning my apartment.....long long baths....excellent. Any suggestions??

One Tree Hill

2008-09-18T09:14:00.000-07:00

Ok so seriously....What is the deal with this show and it's ridiculously slow addition to the internet. I love this show. LOVE LOVE LOVE IT! But I don't have TV at my house, and I usually have to work anyway. So I would like to be able to watch the episode I missed as soon as possible...but it takes like a week for the CW to post the episode so i can watch it for free! I could watch on youtube...but the quality usually sucks and i have to watch it in peices...annoying. I could buy it on iTunes, but I don't think I should have to pay for it when the rest of the world got to see it for free. And I'd rather buy the whole season not just an episode. www.hulu.com has shows for free, but not this one! WHAT IS THE DEAL! If I can get Midnight Sun by Stephenie Meyer before it's intentionally released (and what-up with that, too!), why can't I get One Tree Hill the day after it airs! FRUSTRATION!

SO EXCITED!!

2008-09-04T08:54:00.001-07:00

So for those of you not quite as obsessed as I am...they've moved up the release date of the Twilight movie to NOVEMBER 21ST!! That's like a whole month sooner!! Slap my butt and call me Judy!! I'm excited! I totally have butterflies. So who's coming with me!? I could make James go, but it won't be fun because he thinks it's stupid. Boys are lame.

http://www.twilightthemovie.com/

I can actually hear myself getting fatter....

2008-08-21T10:59:00.001-07:00

Okay so I need help - I eat out WAY too much and it's taking a toll and my well-being. But I don't know how to cook for one person. And I really don't have any fun recipes. Any suggestions?

All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy....

2008-08-20T11:08:00.000-07:00

So I'm not sure who Jack is...or what makes that a poem....but I would have to agree. I work pretty much all the time. I work 9 to 5 at the office, and then go to the mall from 6 to 10. And normally I would be like "heck yes....mall every day....saddle up!" But no. It's work. So then on then nights when I DON'T have to work (which is maybe once or twice a week)....I just want to sit there. No phones, no talking. Just sitting. Probably watching Friends and eating ice cream....mmmmmmm ice cream..... So if you call me and I don't answer it's one of two things.....I am working....or I am extremely busy lying around (possibly staring into the abyss) and doing absolutely nothing and you can't make me do anything because you're not the boss of me.

Cheap Seats

2008-08-05T10:54:00.000-07:00

I have a new favorite TV show....which is weird because I don't actually have television at my apartment. What's even more weird is that it's on ESPN! I know...I was surprised too. The show is called "Cheap Seats" starring Randy and Jason Sklar (twin comedians). What they do is take old shows of televised "sports" and mock them mercilessly. Subjects have included juggling, ultimate frisbee, and poker, and my favorite: The National Spelling Bee. Sadly, I get kicks from two adult men laughing at socially awkward children. Attached is a link to a youtube video of Rebecca Sealfon, the winner of the 1997 National Spelling Bee. You spend the whole video thinking "This girl is either gonna throw up or pass out"....but be sure to listen to the commentary. Hilarious.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZrSZ7eJaQf4

DYING!

2008-08-04T11:18:00.001-07:00

So I pre-ordered my copy of Breaking Dawn...for those of you living in a hole that's the fourth book of Stephenie Meyer's Twilight series. I ordered my book months ago. It shipped last friday and will arrive this week. What I should have done was RESERVE a copy at Barnes & Noble. That way I would currently have said book in my possession and probably would have read most if not all of it by now! The suspense is killing me! Mandy posted a link on her blog to someone else's blog who revealed some of the story...I couldn't read it. I started to, and then I thought "wait...do I really want to know this right now??? what if he ruins the story for me!?" So I stopped myself. I also declined to return a phone call from Mandy (i love you!) because I know that she went to Barnes & Noble and already has her copy! Seriously....I am DYING!

I should have been a hair dresser...

2008-07-31T14:45:00.000-07:00

Ok so last night I decided I wanted dark hair. So I went to the Broulim's (that's right, THE Broulim's) and bought myself a box of dye. I splurged on the pricy (12.99) box...the new Clairol Perfect10. You only need to leave it on your hair for 10 minutes...versus the normal 40 minutes. I must say that I'm a fan. However, as with almost all dye jobs, my hair didn't turn out how I planned. It's almost black. Borderline Gothic. But still saucy. So then I lied (lay? laid? lain? English majors??) awake last night thinking about the pros and cons of dying your hair yourself versus going to the hair dresser. Here's what I came up with.

The great thing about dying your hair at home is the spontenaity. One minute I'm thinking I want dark hair and the next I am giving myself dark hair....rather than making an appointment for a week later and changing my mind in between the thought and the action.

If you're wanting to dye your hair all one color, doing it at home is much cheaper than going to a salon. My "stylist" has a salon in her garage, and she charges me $50 (cheap yes, but not 12.99 cheap) for a cut and color.

One thing you don't get at home is the professional touch and relaxation time. If you're in a hurry or trying to be frugal with the dye, sometimes at-home jobs end up with missed spots or an uneven weave. A professional would obviously take the time to do a good job....it's what she does. My favorite part of getting my hair done is when the dye comes out. Having someone else wash my hair and massage my scalp is a great stress releiver.

Here's something to keep in mind when changing your hair style or color:

What you look like in your head is very rarely how you actually look. I don't know about you, but when I picture myself, I picture myself about 50 lbs. thinner, three shades tanner, and my hair is twice as long and half as coarse. So you may be imagining a hair cut on your perfect form, that may or may not look great on your actual form. Even if you take a picture of Jennifer Aniston to the stylist and say "do that", it's not going to look like the picture. Here's why: you are NOT Jennifer Aniston. Your face is not shaped like Jennifer Aniston's. Your skin tones are not the same as Jennifer Aniston's. Your hair is not the same texture as Jennifer Aniston's. You will not look like Jennifer Aniston. Which is a shame because I think she is gorgeous and the world would be a better place if we all looked like Jennifer Aniston.

Something else to remember is that the stylist probably knows better than you do what will make you look good. Ultimately I like to go to the hairdresser and say: Do whatever you want. And she magically makes me beautiful....but you'll have to find someone that you know and trust and who actually cares about you and wouldn't make you look ridiculous. Good luck with that!

Shark Week

2008-07-30T11:04:00.000-07:00

So it's shark week on the Discovery Channel. Probably the most brilliant marketing plan ever: Let's devote one week to the scariest animals alive and make everyone in the entire world afraid to swim in the ocean. LOVE IT. This is a link to a video showing Great White Sharks hunting seals off the coast of Africa. I'm pretty sure the sharks don't have to be this intense...simply swimming up to the seal with its mouth open would do the job...but holy crap these guys can jump. Probably more impressive than the dolphins at Sea World....and a lot more terrifying.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XCWT-tBLnD8

I submit that I can blog.

2008-07-29T11:29:00.001-07:00

This is me blogging. Check me out I'm blogging.