What Life Is About

"Life isn't about keeping score. It's not about how many people call you and it's not about who you've dated, are dating, or haven't dated at all. It isn't about who you've kissed, what sport you play, or which guy or girl likes you. It's not about your shoes or your hair or the color of your skin or where you live or go to school. In fact, it's not about grades, money, clothes, or colleges that accept you or not. Life isn't about if you have lots of friends, or if you are alone, and it's not about how accepted or unaccepted you are. Life just isn't about all that. But life is about who you love and who you hurt. It's about how you feel about yourself. It's about trust, happiness and compassion. It's about sticking up for your friends and replacing inner hate with love. Life is about avoiding jealousy, overcoming ignorance, building confidence, and forgiving those that have wronged you. It's about what you say and what you mean. It's about seeing people for who they are and not what they have. Most of all, it's about choosing to use your life to touch someone else in a way that could never have been achieved otherwise. These choices are what life's all about."

Wisdom that only a 28 yr old can appreciate ;-)

Happy Birthday to me!

Well yesterday I turned another year older and though I still look like I'm 16, I'm much wiser! Here are a 28 things I've accomplished during my precious time on earth:

1. Graduated from College

2. Found a career, that I'm passionate about and LOVE!

3. Got my driver's license

4. Broke out of my shell, I'm no longer the quiet, shy girl from high school.

5. Raised a cute crazy puppy into a well-behaved lazy dog.

6. Developed mature, healthy relationships with my step/parents

7. Made my sisters my BEST friends

8. Got rid of the not so good friends and made really awesome new ones!

9. Bought a truck

10. Lived on my own and then didn't live on my own and now trying to live on my own again.

11. Learned how to cook.

12. Discovered my talents: party planning, making ppl laugh and relationship advisor

13. Went bungee jumping

14. Re-gained my testimony of the true gospel ;-)

15. Read the book of Mormon

16. Moved to southern California

17. Built a reputation with all my nieces and nephews for being the favorite aunt!

18. Had blond hair

19. Traveled, but not enough

20. Recovered from a broken heart more than once

21. Discovered my weaknesses and overcame them

22. Saw the movie Crossroads featuring Britney Spears

23. Went to the NKOTB reunion concert.

24. Was a maid of honor...more than once ;-)

25. Decided that love does and will conquer all

26. Won supreme grand champion in 1998...10 yr anniversary.

27. Got my young women's medallion (that was huge when I was 17)

28. Forgave

and now the fun part, here are 28 more things that need i plan to accomplish throughout my life.

1. find a place to live in southern cali

2. get my MBA

3. grow my hair, really, really long

4. marry the man of my dreams and live happily ever after

5. become VP of marketing at a skincare company and eventually CEO or just own my own company.

6. Travel international (Mexico doesn't count)

7. have babies and have fun making babies

8. get a 97 on Therese's karaoke machine

9. own a house and decorate

10. save lots and lots of money

11. stay an active member of the church always and forever

12. bike ride around lake Tahoe

13. continue to laugh

14. see glacier national park

15. visit the tulip garden in Washington

16. visit every single temple with my husband, i think there are like 137 so far

17. go to Greece or Italy or somewhere with Beth

18. face all my conflicts head on

19. read the bible cover to cover

20. continue to be true to myself and love others

21. attend a party on a yacht...i prefer P-diddys, but that might be pushing it

22. become less argumentative

23. continue to laugh

24. become a better daughter and sister

25. go skydiving

26. sight lots of celebrities

27. learn more about politics and keep up with the news

28. meet arnold swartzneggar

Gratitude Thursday

I am grateful for...

LAUGHTER...it really is the best medicine.

Late night ideas like "Hey Beth let's go get dessert at La Scala and pick up your youngster while we're at it ;-)"

Sisters that can be inside my mind and figure out my problems, so I don't have to ;-)

Southwest for being the low cost provider.

My family, for letting me be my crazy imperfect self.

Decorating parties and friends that help.

Going to dinner with Marcie and having a grand ole' time.

My Aunt who had a safe surgery.

Cuss words...sometimes you just need to express yourself in a not so very nice way.

Beth who will not be going rafting on Saturday because she is helping me instead ;-)

Yummy artichoke and jalapeno dip.

The Hills premiere...Mondays, now have a whole new light.

Choices...should i take the job?...should i not take the job? maybe i'll just counter his offer;-)

Happy endings

Sunni who is going to grace the bay area with her presence and see Mama Mia with me tomorrow!!!

Fred who gave me a $1 off coupon for Togo's.

Cooking day because it ellicits the domestic goddess within ;-)

Nate Adams for making the yard look pretty so we can party Madd Hatter style.

Summer fruit...i love the variety.

My dog would make the best husband ever…

He is 100% loyal.
He keeps his eyes on me and only me when I’m home.
He desperately misses me when I’m gone.
He listens to everything I say.
He doesn’t mind watching chick flicks as long as he can lie by my feet.
He never strays while I’m away.
He thinks anything I cook is delicious.
He doesn’t have to say “I love you” because I know he does.
He’s constantly trying to make me happy.
He waits to eat his dinner until I’m home.
He’s always sad when I leave and happy when I come home.
He eats spiders and insects that occasionally appear in my room.
At night, he is the first one to go check out the “funny noises,” awww, I feel so safe.
He’s the first to notice if I’m sad and immediately offers his support.
He loves to go on adventures and is down for anything as long as I’m by his side.
At restaurants he lets me take the seat and he takes the floor.
He always walks on the outside with a lady.
He never stinks up the bathroom.
He lets me talk about whatever I want and always seems interested in what I’m saying.
If I spill food, he’s the first to clean it up.
He scares away the rodents.
He never complains.
He loves to “clean” the dishes.
He digs holes so I can plant flowers.
And lastly, he’ll do anything I tell him ;-)
Yep, that’s my dog.

Gratitude Thursday

This is going to be more of a Gratitude story because so much has happened this week and thankfully I have lots of pictures ;-)

First and foremost I'm thankful for men that look outstandingly sexy in uniform...okay maybe just my man...ooh baby ;-)

Second I'm thankful for places like ViceRoy and girl talk

My introduction to pinkberry

The spa..I died and went to 4 hours of heaven with one of my greatest friends, Therese.

My dog, who hates the smell of stinky shoes but appreciates a nice smelling perfume and who always makes me stop to smell the roses.

The dollar store and the little treasures hidden there.

My trip to DQ and the fun outfits.

Million dollar ideas

Oh hail the outlet stores....and this is where the story begins.

I ended up buying the dress in red for a bargain price of $30...not bad for Kenneth Cole.
The two best words a woman could ever ask for ;-)

And on the way home I saw these amazing ships but I could only take a picture of the sign...

The coolest dance moves since Michael Jackson

Gratitude Thursday

I am grateful for...

1. Friends that act silly at a Thai food restaurant.

2. AIRPLANES.

3. Little boys faces when they get a present they enjoy.

4. Family Time!

5. LOREAL coulour juice lip gloss.

6. Words that make me smile like "Schaetzle'" and "Guten Tag"

7. Paper mate pens because I never feel guilty when I lose them.

8. Sunni, because she's more obsessed with celebrities than I am...k maybe not but pretty close.

9. Make-up because it does wonders for my face.

10. Rachel, because she is the cutest pregnant lady ever!

11. Face book's super poke application.

12. Webster's New World Dictionary.

13. The color pink.

14. Tomorrow because I get see my pumpkin.

15. Feet that are uglier than mine

Badge # 440

My dad...

Graduated No. 1 in his class in the police academy, raced motorcycles, has arrested more bad guys than John McClain in Die Hard and is cooler than Mr. Freeze in Batman #4.

Is responsible for my obsession with presents. He gives the best presents! For Christmas one year my sister and I got a horse and the next year we got a goat...a goat! Who does that...my dad! I will never forget my birthday when I got the oh-so-coveted Teddy Ruxpin, he took me to Toys R Us and told me to pick out anything I wanted except for the talking bear, I figured the reason being it was too expensive but later that night I discovered it was because he had already purchased the beloved gift. I can tell he loves giving more than getting and he likes to compete with the other gift givers...he usually wins when it comes to giving the best presents. Sebastyan, my nephew put another "present-winning" notch on my dads belt this weekend.

Can fix things!!! Not just necessities, like water heaters and power outages. I'm talkin' the cool stuff like golf carts, dirt bikes, boats, cars and Teddy Ruxpin. One year he bought seven golf carts that were all broken and fixed four of them for his three daughters and himself. Unfortunately, a few golf cart accidents occurred but for the most part we had soooo much fun driving them everywhere on his property. He let me be the first one to ride the dirt bike, what a mistake... I drove it right into a 10 foot ditch, but he was also the first one there to see if I was okay and with a mouthful of mud, I nodded yes. He use to buy cars for 5 dollars at a junk yard and fix them up so we could drive them around. Some of them were pretty hilarious: The bobcat's passenger seat consisted of a lounge chair and the Nissan had a cardboard hatchback which was the reason why the passengers were intoxicated with Co2. One summer and every summer after that we had a boat and it came with water ski's that were just my size, along with a knee board and a really cool orange flag that I got to wave when my sisters biffed it.

Loves to scare people. He really gets into it too...one time he dressed all in black and put on black leather gloves so he could "pretend kidnap" my step mom....hmmm, maybe I shouldn't be posting this one.

Taught us how to be "hide n' seek" masters! #1 rule for hide n' seek: always play in the dark. #2: play on your turf. #3 wear all black, don't be afraid to hide where the spiders are and be QUIET.

Is always the number one pick on a paintball team. One time he shot my Uncle Scott in the neck, unintentionally in that particular spot, so he says, but he's never had bad aim...Uncle Scott never played paintball again.

Always had the coolest fireworks for 4th of July and would never tell us where he got them.

Has killed lots of animals: boar, elk, deer, rabbit, and one time he shot a rattle snake while we were camping, he was going to make us eat it but luckily it spoiled first.

Tested all the toys before he gave them to us to ensure that they worked of course. The good thing that came out of this was that we got really cool toys like a giant trampoline, Nintendo and the really big video games like Asteroids and air hockey.

Knows everything! He knew when we took the truck out for a joy ride even though we parked it in the exact spot where we got it (we even placed wood blocks where the tires were suppose to go.) Ask him a question, he has an answer.

So here's to you, you crazy nut that goes on hide speed chases while your daughters are in the car! Happy birthday, with much love.

Miss M
(Now I have to be your favorite, Frannie and Michelle have never written a blog about you ;)

Gratitude Thursday

I am grateful for....

My i-phone and all the effort my sister made to get it for me!

Beth and her identical bike cruisers.

My BF and his txts...oh so cute.

Monica...for teaching me how to cook so I can complete my journey to becoming "the most desirable woman."

The paper copy of my Bachelor degree...awww, I can finally relax!

My friend Sunni because she got us tickets to the Dr. Phil Show,...let the brain washing begin.

Songs that I can sing off key and out loud, i.e. "Angels" by Jessica Simpson.

The opportunity to share the gospel...because it's amazing.

My friends that showed up to my lasagna feast.

The Mad Hatter Party planning committee.

Montana...because he shows me he loves me EVERYDAY!

Friends that have hot tubs.

Therese and all of her career advice.

The mere fact that Jelly shoes are back.

Keri and her addicting excitement for the NKOTB reunion tour.

Little kids birthday parties...yay chuckee cheese.

The computer systems at work that are finally back up and running!

Meatloaf at my parents house.

101 Things About Me

1. I chipped my front tooth when I was 13 @ Marina Skate in Pittsburg, CA.
2. The first time I knew when my dad truly loved me was when he risked his life on a busy freeway to rescue my Princess Diana Paper Doll that flew out the window.
3. My first kiss was in a pile of cotton seeds.
4. I grew up as a city girl during the week and a country girl on the weekends.
5. I have an iPhone 3G and want an expensive camera.
6. I stare at myself in the mirror, waaaay too much.
7. I'm a California girl born and raised, but I have a vacation home in Montana and Oregon.
8. I have a list kept in a secret place of all of things I want to do with my husband.
9. I am a daughter of God.
10. I would walk 20 miles in high heels if they matched my outfit.
11. I sing out of tune...ALL the time.
12. I am constantly trying to become a better person each and everyday.
13. I love relationship books and am currently reading "The Proper Care and Feeding of Marriages" by Dr. Laura, borrowed from Beth.
14. I look like my mom.
15. I relate to my dad.
16. I'm on my way to being a successful business woman.
17. My life has come full circle...more than once!
18. I believe in second chances.
19. I got my undergrad degree and it took me a looooooong time.
20. I want to get my MBA and I think it might be cool to get a doctorate of some sort...(Dr. Stirling has a nice ring to it.)
21. I love everything about my family: The good, the bad and the indifferent.
22. My childhood dream was to become a soap opera star...no joke.
23. My nickname in middle school was "Melissa B-flat," thanks to stupid Dante Franklen!
24. I played the clarinet in the 4th grade and lied to my music teacher so I didn't have to play in the 5th.
25. I was a 4-H member and raised lambs, pigs and steers.
26. I think children are the best teachers.
27. NKTOB was my very first concert and I can't wait to go to their reunion tour.
28. My favorite Jelly Belly is watermelon.
29. I think cheating at card games is more fun then winning fairly.
30. I'm extremely competitive and must be the BEST at everything!
31. My sister pretended to be me and succeeded on more than one encounter w/the PO lice.
32. My dad taught me how to shoot a gun when I was a wee little thing.
33. As a child, I was fearless.
34. I love Hawaii and would like to own a condo in Maui when I grow up.
35. I kiss my dog on the lips.
36. I use to think of a million different ways on how to annoy people.
37. I think PDA is romantic, even though I pretend I'm shy.
38. According to 8 people I can make a mean tasting lasagna and 7 said it's the best they ever had!
39. I love to snuggle and be close with the ones I love.
40. I have a huge purse collection and love each and everyone of them individually.
41. I hate folding laundry and messy rooms.
42. I believe I would win the messiest room contest...hands down!
43. As a child it would take me an hour to make my bed because it had to be "perfect."
44. I've learned that there is more to life than a perfectly made bed.
45. I believe in the goodness of people and feel everyone should be treated with love and respect no matter what.
46. I'm obsessed with Arnold Swartzneggar and don't know how to spell his name.
47. There is nothing better than a chocolate dipped cone from DQ on a hot summer night.
48. I love difference of opinion!
49. I love party planning, hosting a dinner and cleaning up afterwards.
50. Presents are absolutely amazing: The giving, the getting, the wrapping and the opening ;-)
51. My birthday deserves a month of celebration!
52. If you Google my name, I show up.
53. I hate sammiches on the beach because they become sandwiches.
54. I'm witty.
55. I believe my dad is tougher than anyone...don't mess with me!
56. I like chocolate cupcakes without frosting.
57. My sense of humor can be off-putting at times.
58. I'm left-handed.
59. I want to see the world and absorb different cultures.
60. I get cold easily.
61. I have to shave my feet... stupid genetics.
62. I pretend that the Stirling Castle in Scotland is ALL mine and I can't wait to become Queen!
63. I dream big.
64. I talk during movies and it drives people crazy.
65. No one knows me better than my younger sister...our souls are connected.
66. I understand and appreciate my parents more and more each day.
67. I knew it all at 10! I don't know what happened.
68. I have been in more car accidents than my entire family put together...hence the reason they never let me drive.
69. I am geographically challenged and have the worse sense of direction.
70. I hate bad tempers.
71. I sleep with 5 blankets, most of the time.
72. My favorite holiday is Halloween, because I get to carve Pumpkins.
73. I love the smell of money!
74. I prefer veggies over candy.
75. I have always loved to save $$$, there is nothing more rewarding than watching that bank account grow.
76. I have 5 different distinct laughs, and I love people who make me laugh.
77. I know odd little facts like, "laughing burns 80 calories and Tom Cruise's agent is Jewish."
78. South Park is hilarious and so is Sex in the City.
79. I've always wanted to compete in a rodeo.
80. I think old couples in love is the most romantic thing ever!
81. I still have the very first doll that i was given as a child and keep her in my room, always.
82. I yearn for the purple stuphalumpagus my grandmother gave me, that was tragically misplaced years ago.
83. Judgemental people and political conversations intimidate me.
84. I think kissing in the pouring rain would be so romantic.
85. The best type of flowers are the "just because" ones.
86. The criteria for a perfect Sunday is: Church, napping on the hammock and eating meals that were made for me.
87. I have been to over 50 concerts! Some artists include but are not limited to: Madonna, Bette Midler and Britney Spears.
88. I love going to conferences that will make me a better person after it's over.
89. I love the gospel because it's true!
90. I think the Beatles are musical geniuses.
93. When I was young I secretly looked up to my younger sister.
94. I'm pretty easy going and can have fun just about anywhere.
95. I hate drugs and am proud to say I have never tried them.
96. I've fallen off a horse more than once.
97. I like to bite the faces off of gummy bears.
98. I am a firm believer that hot food should be eaten hot and cold food should be eaten cold, therefore, you will never see me eat cold pizza.
99. I stand by the saying "Actions speak louder than words."
100. I won 2nd place in my schools 6th grade spelling bee competition.
101. I thought writing 101 things about myself was going to be difficult but it was actually pretty easy.

It's The Little Things...

Lately my heart has been overwhelmed with love for family, friends and just life in general. I have now reached the age where most of my friends and ALL of my sisters are married and starting or have their very own families. I find their stories of life and love endearing and just wanted to share the little things I noticed about them and their relationships that demonstrate the love that they have for each other...

I know Mike loves Frannie because he never lets her carry heavy things and he knows that whenever she goes out to eat, if there is French dip on the menu she will order it ;-)

I know Frannie loves Mike because she gets off the phone with me the moment he comes home so she can give him a hug and kiss and talk about his day.

I know Frannie loves Ashton because she called me today hysterical, to let me know that Ashton had just chipped his tooth ;-(

I know Casey loves Katie because he shares his bed every night, even though she snores.

I know Katie loves Casey because after four years of marriage, she still looks at him like he's the hottest man alive.

I know Katie loves Gerry because she plays cars, over and over and over again.

I know my Dad loves Karen because he built a home in Montana and let her decorate.

I know Karen loves my Dad because she didn't kill him when he built his home in Montana ;-) It's been said, that remodels are extremely stressful on relationships.

I know that my Dad loves his daughters because he's there in a moments notice when we need something fixed.

I know that Karen loves me because she gives me lots of food so I don't have to go to the grocery store for an entire week whenever I come for a visit ;-)

I know that my mom and George love me because they took care of my dog while I worked.

I know that my grandma loved my grandpa Chambers because she missed him everyday, since the day of his death, til the day she died.

and I know that my grandpa loved my grandma because he told her so...

Overall, it's the little things that make you feel REALLY special.

I love you all...Melissa

After posting my blog I witnessed another demonstration of love...my Grandma Janet struggling for 10 minutes trying to put socks on my Grandpa Steve who is recovering from Knee replacement surgery. I just HAD to take a picture.