Melissa Beth

S.C.O.O.B.

2006-12-17T17:24:00.000-06:00

Okay, so for all you harassing me about posting...here are some long awaited pics...I don't think I've put them on here yet. :)

This is a pic of Scoob, "Stray Cat On Our Block". He showed up one evening and proceeded to show up every evening around 6 pm. We eventually got quite attached to him, he was clean, declawed, sweet, and didn't shed at all. He'd come visit, hang out, and then go back home when he seemed to sniff around like he had to poop. :) Anyway, he hasn't shown up in a long time, he stopped coming by when it got cold so I think his owners are keeping him inside now, unless somebody nabbed him. Anyway, this is our tribute to scoob.

Halloween at Bishop Spencer

2006-11-02T18:33:00.000-06:00

Hey guys! So....I decided to be a tree. It was all I could come up with late that evening... and knew that I had all the leaves from my wedding. Sooo....Joe used safety pins to hook the leaves all over my brown sweatshirt (he was quite the artist). The whole process took FOREVER. :) Then we created a fake bird nest with some stuff from Wal-mart and a little improv. I also tied a birdhouse to me and had a monkey wrapped around my leg. It was fun. Anyway...the residents loved my costume.

The woman to the far left is Judy, one of the other program coordinators. She works with independent living, and she decided to be a chicken. She was adorable! She tied all these white boas to a white sweatshirt, had these cute orange tights, and chicken slippers. It was hilarious. She was going to hot iron "hot chick" on her boxers, but didn't have time.

The other lady is Cindy, and she was a "seamstress" who tied her pant legs together and had thimbles in her hair, etc., and all day she talked in this funny accent. She also had this thing on her face that looked like she had gotten a safety pin stuck in her face, it was really gross! But very creative. Anyway, it was fun.

This is Lindsey, one of our assistants. The residents love her! She's a sweetie! She had a cape with her outfit but was missing it because one of the residents was wearing it. :) I don't really know what she was supposed to be. Some masked lady!

And below is one last picture of Judy. Look at her cute feet! :)

Do you see why I love the people I work with?!? :)More on Halloween to come!

Costume Ideas Needed!

2006-10-21T11:02:00.000-05:00

Hey guys! I need help.

We're having a Halloween costume contest at work. Being a program coordinator requires that I am involved. :) (especially since we are coordinating the whole thing!) Therefore! I need a really creative costume. The winner actually even gets moolah! (1st, 2nd, and 3rd). Apparently, this is a really intense contest, and the ideas get really creative and elaborate. My coworker is super creative, so I'm trying to think of something that won't embarrass me by being just average. :)

Some requirements-1) I don't have to spend much money 2) It's not an inappropriate, really gross, or nasty costume (I work at a cultured retirement center!) 3) I can sit down if I need to (because inevitably throughout the day, I will need to sit at my computer at times....but if it's something that I could take off and put back on easily, it would work)

The funnier, the better. Any ideas, please post comments or email! :) I'll take pictures and let you know the decision!

Love you all!

Craziness!

2006-10-18T08:43:00.000-05:00

So I got permission to post this picture from my coworker. :) This is the woman I share an office with, and she is an absolute riot! I think she found these glasses in a box of Halloween things we unpacked in preparation for the things we are planning at the center around that time. I love working with her, and she cracks me up! She is one of the funniest, most interesting people that I know, and everyone loves her. When I first started, I began working in skilled nursing with her and now I'm in assisted living. She is an absolute amazing person and her love for the residents is so evident in all that she does. We are completely different people in many ways, but work together very well! I miss working with her in skilled nursing but am thankful that I share an office with her and just for the friendship. I am so thankful to work with someone who I can learn so much from (she's been doing this for over 15 years!) and for working with someone has been so welcoming and friendly with me from day one. I also put this picture as her desktop screensaver, which she has yet to discover. :)

Little blessings

2006-10-16T09:01:00.000-05:00

It's early Monday morning and I'm taking a few minutes to just say "Thank you, Lord" for little blessings and the little things people do that just brighten your day. This morning I came into my office and found a little blessing. I had started a candy jar so that I could get to know people more (everyone loves people with candy jars) and then they have to come see me to get a piece of candy. :) So anyhoo...it was almost gone (it was well-loved) and this morning I came in and someone had filled it up halfway for me with Twis Bars and m & m's. It totally made my morning! I know, I am a nerd.

Prior to that, bright and early this chilly chilly morning, my husband went out to the bathroom and started the tiny little space heater for me, knowing that I would be getting up shortly and it would be chilly. So I was surprised to get in there and find that it was already nice and warm for me. We have hardwoods all through our house, so they can get chilly. Isn't he just the sweetest? I am so blessed by him, he is always doing little things like that. He is a wonderful, wonderful husband.

Okay, enough cheese. I am just feeling blessed today and thankful for my job and also a coworker that I love sharing an office with and working with. God is so good. I want to be able to say, "Blessed be the name of the Lord" in good times and bad, and want to say thanks for a few of the many ways He blessses us. Sometimes it's easy to forget when things are going wonderful.

Anyway, that's it. No more mushiness. Just wanted to thank God! Have a wonderful day!

P.S. Congrats to the Gilbaughs on the birth of little Caleb Marshall! I can't wait to see pictures!!! :) I am thinking of you all and praying for you! Joe and I have been so blessed by your friendship these past two years. We love you all! :) (okay, the last of the mushiness)

Golfing

2006-09-30T21:34:00.000-05:00

Mom and dad came down last weekend. It was a nice relaxing weekend, and of course the boys somehow talked us into going to the driving range. :) They had a lot of fun. I even hit a few balls, but cuddled under a blanket most of the time, since it was pretty chilly that day! Mom and I were their cheerleaders, and I took pictures. Anyway, it was a fun weekend. :) Mom was very excited about me taking her picture at the bottom. :)

Apple Orchard :)

2006-09-30T20:21:00.000-05:00

Last weekend Joe and I decided to venture out to the Apple Orchard...unfortunately, it was the last day for picking as the season was really stinky this year. But we still had fun seeing all the cute little animals, pumpkins, and got some apples to make some apple pies. The apples were so good, though, that we ate them all before I could make a pie out of them! :) It was a beautiful day and a lot of fun!
This is me and the little baby piglets. They were pretty cute. Joe kept trying to get me to pick one up, but I didn't want to get in trouble when it started squealing. (you weren't supposed to feed them or pick them up!) There was this little girl cracking me up, I don't even remember why! But she was cute, and loved the pigs!

Joe took a picture of the sheep that we petted, he was pretty cute, too. "Ewe's not fat, ewe's fluffy!" hehe

The last pic is us in front of two humongo pumpkins. We were a little disappointed in the trip, because those of you from Iowa City now that Wilson's Apple Orchard is the best, and they have the yummiest apple fritters (and they didn't have any) but it was still a great time! It's hard to beat Wilson's. :)

Air Show Sept. 2006

2006-09-20T21:45:00.000-05:00

Hey everybody! Just thought I'd post some pics from the airshow that Joe and I went to this past weekend. It was really really stinkin' cold and rainy :) but we still had fun. Here's me flying one of the big jets. It was kinda freaky, but once I got up to so many thousands of feet, it didn't bother me so much anymore.

Here's our little two-person camping seat. So we get to this airshow, and apparently there is absolutely NOWHERE to sit anywhere. Most of the people know this, and have brought chairs. Alas, we were not thinking. However, there happened to be a little man selling camping chairs for those in just such a predicament. At first we didn't want to spend money on the dumb things but after a half hour of trying to crane our necks upward standing on cement, we decided to give in and figured we could use them down the road as well. They were actually quite comfortable and since the seats were together, it was warmer than sitting separate-which was nice since it was raining much of the time and absolutely FREEZING!!! :) This is actually one of the only clear parts of the day.

These were the Blue Angels-the best part of the show! Amazing, and incredible to see how God has gifted people. It was just breathtaking to watch them fly, absolute perfection in the air. The rest of the show was incredible as well, but these were my favorite, and absolutely beautiful. I also really liked the Red Baron plane and the bandits. They did a bunch of neat aerials-things Joe said were absolutely crazy. Anyway, we had a lot of fun and it was neat to see some of the planes that Joe remembered from the Air Force. :)

Coke Rewards

2006-09-20T08:35:00.000-05:00

Hey peeps! Just a little note to those of you helping me with mycokerewards....I am hoping to turn my points in within the next month, depending on if they even have any prizes. I'm right in between point levels of the puny ones and a few of the medium ones. They don't have very much left at all anymore! Grrrr.... :( Soooooo...if anyone has any that they want to get rid of, just email them to me! heehee....Thanks! Love you guys!

Royals games!

2006-09-18T17:32:00.000-05:00

Okay, Emily and Meghan....here is the long awaited blog. :) I don't have much time, but thought I'd post some pics from our recent adventures to the Royals games. The first game that we went to was the Royals vs. the Cleveland Indians...and honestly, I can't remember if we won or lost. Joe got tickets through Cerner and so we decided to go even though it was rainy out and I wasn't feeling very great. To the left is the picture where I am soaking wet and Joe keeps taking my picture. Don't I look excited??? Hee hee. The next game we went to I got tickets for Joe's birthday- the Chicago White Sox....we won...! :) The second game we attended was the Yankees vs. Royals...and we didn't win. :) Anyway, they were both fun, particularly the second game since we had good seats. Maybe next year we'll get really great seats when they play the Yankees, or Cardinals, or another great team. I'm going to eventually have a photo album with photos from our lives down here, someday when I have time, maybe some weekend. Go Royals!

To the right is Joe displaying the ever famous "peanuts" that one can get at a baseball game. He was demonstrating to me exactly how one is to eat a peanut. Apparently, they're the best when purchased at a baseball game, and you get to catch them from the guy selling them. It was quite exciting. :)

These are some more pictures of us at the game....and me with my HUMONGO Royals cup.

Us again, and some action shots. The pic to the far right is the KC Royals mascot, getting ready to do what they call the "weiner launch." They have this gigantic hot dog launcher that shoots t shirts and prizes to the crowd. It was pretty stinkin' funny. A few more pics below.

Sage playing the trombone

2006-08-14T17:42:00.000-05:00

My little niece Sage playing her "little" instrument. Isn't she just the cutest thing? I just think this is the funniest picture ever, you should have seen her playing that thing. And, yes, she actually made noise come out of it!

Cutie patootie.

2006-07-30T20:21:00.000-05:00

Here's my little nephew at a recent reunion. He was chillin' with a croquet ball. =) Really random post, but I thought it was cute. :)

Earl Sighting!

2006-07-30T20:15:00.000-05:00

Somebody just spotted Earl in the neighborhood...as he made off with some local boys' candy. Authorities are on the move tracking him down. Stinkin' thief. Here's Earl caught in the act. I told you he had beady eyes.

Garden

2006-07-30T15:11:00.000-05:00

Just wanted to post a little picture of my garden... prior to the squirrel infestation. Sadly, or not so sadly, however you may take it...we found Pearle (the squirrel) dead. Earl is M.I.A. but they have not been around my garden far as I can tell, some things are starting to come back. The heat is taking a toll, though. To the left in the garden are my beans (which now have pretty much bit the dust due to squirrels and intense heat), then the squash (which were eaten off by the squirrels except for one...now I have two little gourds currently growing), pepper plants, and tomatoes. The jalopenos are doing the best, they seem to love the heat. My cucumbers are up on the hill in a box, they're doing well! :)

Squirrel Carnage....they were carrying off my tomatoes and eating them! I caught them many times! Stinkin' Pearle and Earl! The past week or two, however, we haven't had any problems! :) Now that they killed everything, anyway! :( Grrrr. Anyhoo, those are just a couple pics...hope it helps you visualize it! :)

Becky and her new baby!

2006-07-27T14:01:00.000-05:00

Becky had her baby! The stats (as best I can remember from what Anthony said) :)

Name: Noelle Lyn
Weight: 7 pounds and some ounces, almost 8 pounds!
Length: 21 inches long
Born: Around 9:00 p.m. or so on Tuesday night

I hope I got those right! I'm sure Beck will clear that up at some point if I remembered wrong. Thanks for everyone's prayers, and pray for Becky's health and that she is feeling better soon.
I will hopefully talk to her in a few days after things settle down for her. Right now things are just crazy and I don't want to bother her. Anyhoo, that's it! Praise God for a beautiful little healthy girl!!

=)

Squirrels, Coke Points, Pregnant Becky, and My Mama =)

2006-07-20T08:24:00.000-05:00

Okay, how's that for a random title?!? =)

Okay...update on the squirrels- They've actually taken a turn for the worse and are being really quite obnoxious. We took down the feeders because they have taken to digging in our mulch (and burying things) and it is quite annoying. I keep catching them in my garden nibbling on my squash, beans, and tomatoes. The friendship that we THOUGHT we had formed is no longer. I think, however, that the squirrel that Joe pelleted today (he's conditioning them with the bb gun to stay out of the garden) was Earl. Earl is the most persistent fellow out there, and definitely a boy as we have determined by his mannerisms. Emily, you have won the contest....because this fellow is definitely an Earl. If you want details as to why we determined that, feel free to inquire. Joe is having fun with the BB gun. =)

Coke points-I am currently around 895. I am in a bit of a rut. =) All in all, the contest has been fun since it has allowed me to keep in contact with many friends, meet a lot of new people, and form friendships at work. It's been really funny to see so many people get into it. I wanted to try to win a trip so we could justify a vacation maybe around our anniversary :) and even though that probably won't happen, it has been fun. Thank you everybody who is helping, it's been just a fun little thing to do and a good excuse to talk to so many different people! God uses little random things in many interesting ways, His creativity and the way He uses different things to reach out to others always intrigues me.

Pregnant Becky- MY FRIEND BECKY (BARDGETT) IS HAVING HER BABY SOON! Please pray for her, and her delivery. It is her first baby, and I am so thrilled for her. I haven't gotten a phone call yet from Anthony, she told me he would call, but I know things will be so crazy so I'm planning on giving them a call over lunch to see if she has gone into labor yet. She will be a wonderful, Godly mother and I can't wait to see the new little pipsqueak!

My mom- Thank you to everyone who has prayed for my mom and her surgeries. They all went well, and she is recovering at home. I've been teasing her about her fan club, because everywhere I went when we went home for a wedding, everyone was inquiring about her and sharing that they were praying for her. Everyone has been blessing her with meals, prayers, and support and my dad is taking good care of her :) It's difficult for her to sit still and rest, she's used to always doing things for other people, but I'm glad that everybody gets a turn to bless her, too. Please be praying for a quick recovery as when she is fully recovered in a few months, she will probably return to Mayo for her knee replacement surgery. Thanks so much for praying, the Lord is so good. You are all such faithful prayer warriors. I love you all!

Joe now has our computer up and running upstairs. Sorry that it has taken so long, he has just been swamped with work lately and many other household projects. But my wonderful husband has everything going and so now we can begin loading pictures from our camera soon. So I'm hoping to post some pictures this weekend after he shows me how to do it. So be watching and waiting...and maybe you will get to see Earl!

Talk to ya'all soon!

Coke rewards

2006-07-07T22:50:00.000-05:00

For all you peeps who have been helping me with my coke rewards hunt and asking for an update...I am now at 700 points. I'm hoping to hit 1000 by Tues, but that might not happen. This week has been relatively slow, but I'm still pluggin' along. Thanks for your help! =) I'll keep you updated ;)

Later, potaters!

Squirrel hunting

2006-07-07T14:36:00.000-05:00

Hey peeps. So. I have a garden. Recently a squirrel decided that he enjoyed dining in it. First I thought...I am going to hurt you, little punk. Then I decided that probably shooting him wasn't the best route as we live in town....sooooo.....my husband put up a little squirrel feeder to give him an alternative food source. And....shock of all shocks, he likes it and is leaving my garden alone! =) I've sort of decided that he's kind of cute, and I have started saying hello to him every morning. I will post a picture of him soon once we get our computer all situated.

Question....what should we name our squirrel? Please post ideas and Joe and I will decide on what we feel best describes our new little friend. =)

Hello peeps!

2006-06-30T14:53:00.000-05:00

Hey everybody....I started a blog. I'm very proud. It won't be very impressive probably, but here it is, nonetheless! =) Woohoo!