..moving..

We are moving this weekend..last minute decision so I will post pictures soon of graduation and my family visiting..until then...
I would like to know why caps and gowns are so unattractive..?? Can't I get a sweet fitted gown with no weird cap and maybe like a cute necklace? haha What are your thoughts Gretchen??

..7 things..

Thanks to Darah, I've been tagged and will share 7 random things about myself. I was tagged months ago by Jenn and completely forgot about it! Sorry Jenn!

1) I am oddly fascinated with serial killers. Having grown up in Washington state, (where all the good ones come from-good serial killers..what?) I saw them on the news all the time and began to follow their stories. I like to research them and see their killing profiles. I think I like Ted Bundy and his story. Sick, I know. But he has connections with a man in my church. They were friends in elementary school and shared the same birthday! And then I like the Green River Killer but just because he was being held in Shelton, WA for awhile and we wanted to work on his teeth at our oral surgeon’s office (long story but that is the main point) Then, I think my all time favorite is the DC Sniper. Yuck..this one is bad. I have been so fascinated with this case, why so random? Why all ages? Why? And then it, of course, had ties to the Northwest. And they made a sweeeet made for tv movie called DC Sniper: 21 Days of Terror. Remember when I use to watch that all the time, mom?? I think I watched it at least 10 times.

2) I truly believe that all the F.R.I.E.N.D.S. characters are real. I mean, I watch them everyday and spend more time with them then any other people. Is there something wrong with that? I think so…and I reference most everything to the show, it’s pretty sick and actually quite pathetic.

3) Jesse and I met just shortly after having had a gall bladder attack. That’s right, just left the hospital emergency room and was home resting. I had been in the hospital till 4am and then was sitting on the couch when I heard his roommate down below (we were on the 2nd story). I went outside and saw all 3 of the boys. That is not the first time I had seen him though. I had a mini crush on him months earlier when I first saw him. I just knew him as “Brianne’s cute neighbor”. Didn’t learn his name for a while. But when I saw him again that day in 2005, I was in awe :) Never had a crush that big!

4) I am actually quite a negative person and have grown more negative over the past 3-4 years. Kind of lame and I don’t like it but I feel like right now, I can’t change it. I have grown to be less friendly and more harsh..maybe LA is ruining my life ;)

5) I like to create monologues while I am in the shower and practice them throughout the week. Call it talking to yourself..I say they are monologues :)

6) I am actually afraid of pregnancy and childbirth. It is to the point where I don’t know if I want children. If people continue to tell me their horror stories, the Weldon name will never be passed on. Maybe that’s the answer to overpopulation. Scare all the young women like Melissa.

7) I hold onto the most random things ever. I start sorting through things and start laughing at the random crap I find! It must have been important to me at some point!

..all done..

I just finished my last college final!!!

WHOOOO HOOOOOOO!!!!

My family is in Long Beach and heading here before too long!

I will post grad pictures and all our other crazy adventures after they leave on the 17th!

Until then...

CAP AND GOWN TIME!!

..new home, party, finals..

Jesse and I found a place to live!!! WHOO HOO!! I will post pictures soon because we want to surprise my family with the view/paint color/kitchen..all that stuff! BUT we did see it and fell in love! It is in Valencia a newer part called Westridge. We decided to spend the extra money for the beautiful view. Now I can start looking for a puppy to get too :) We wanted a 2 bedroom condo we looked at but this one bedroom is much nicer and a great size. We signed our lease for December 20th. We can start moving in less than 2 weeks! YAY!!!

After finding our new home, Jesse and I went to his company Christmas party. We had a fun evening of drinks, dinner, and dancing. It was fun to get dressed up and meet all his co-workers. He is the youngest manager so it was kind of funny to see them all together. He is like at least 10 years younger then everyone else! hahaha We stayed the night at the same hotel in Van Nuys so we could enjoy lots of fun drinks! Here are some pictures from the evening:

My fun outfit for the evening :) Love my boots!

THEN on the way home we stopped for lunch and we saw a B2 Stealth Bomber. Jesse freaked out and I was like "what the heck is that?!" So I had to snap a picture and then do some research on it when I got home. The B2 was in our area flying over the funeral for former Secretary of the Air Force Vern Orr. It was quite a sight and so close. So many people have commented on it on blogs and other websites. It is rather spectactular to see up close. I am so use to seeing these types of miltary stuff in Washington but never down here! It was quite cool!

Okay, I need to study for a math final, theology final, finish writing a small paper, prepare a funny presentation, and then study for consumer...ohh and clean the apartment for my family's arrival! 3 days!!!

..one week..

My family will be down here in one week!!! Whoo hoo! I can't wait to see them! It's been about 4 months since we have seen each other so it will be a nice reunion! Everyone is coming down so I am excited to see them in my part of the town ;) They haven't seen our place and my older brother has not even seen Azusa Pacific U. I am just excited and glad they will be here for a week. A good Christmas gift! We plan to head to Huntington Beach, Disneyland, Old Town Pasadena, and maybe some other random places that Jesse and I love.

Here is the list...
*Group meeting for board room presentation with executives from Disneyland on December 2 X
*Lots of prep for the above meeting X
*20 page senior sem paper-XXXXX :)
*Journal entires for dance-X
*Journal for senior sem X
*Paper for theatre dance X
*Individual dance for Theatre Dance X
*Group dance performance for Theatre Dance (Chicago-All That Jazz)
*Paper for theology
*Finals in consumer behavior, analytical inquiry, and theology

ALMOST THERE!!!!!

Whoo hoo!!!!!!!

..my work is done, almost..

Today as I was feverishly working on my senior sem paper I got the best text message ever...

Hailey was excited for her 3rd Thanksgiving!
I laughed so hard when I got this. Man I love that kid!!

Well the paper is done and I did quite well for 4 days of writing and research. I guess my professor will decide that though :)
My topic for my paper: The power of positive thinking and hope’s affect on the quality of life of women with breast cancer
It was pretty interesting to write and hopefully he enjoys reading it!
So in honor of Melissa, here is my to-do list and some stuff checked off :)

*Math test tomorrow morning-X
*Group meeting for board room presentation with executives from Disneyland on December 2-X
*Lots of prep for the above meeting
*20 page senior sem paper-XXXXX :)
*Journal entires for dance-X
*Journal for senior sem
*Group dance for Theatre Dance (Chicago-All That Jazz..at least it's fun!)
*Paper for theology
*Paper for theatre dance
*Finals in consumer behavior, analytical inquiry, and theology

I got to see Cerissa, Dave, and James Riley this weekend..I will post pictures soon Cerissa! He is adorable..thanks for sharing him with us for a little bit :) And I can't believe he is walking all over the place!!

..hate..

Hating school at the moment...pray for me. This is going to be a long 2 weeks!

*Math test tomorrow morning
*Group meeting for board room presentation with executives from Disneyland on December 2
*Lots of prep for the above meeting
*20 page senior sem paper
*Journal entires for dance and senior sem
*Group dance for Theatre Dance (Chicago-All That Jazz..at least it's fun!)
*Paper for theology (only 8 pages..not bad..hahaha)
*Paper for theatre dance (only 2 pages...even better)
*Finals in consumer behavior, analytical inquiry, and theology

That might be it..hope that's it..all need to be done by December 5th except the finals :) Can she do it? Let's hope so!

..calmed down..

Well the air is much better now and the fires have calmed down. They definitely left a path a destruction and extreme sadness. Continue to pray for all the families that lost their homes, it is about 1000 homes.

Somehow I managed to get sick starting Sunday evening. How? I have no idea. I was alone all weekend and stayed home working on homework. I missed most of my classes on Monday and Tuesday. I am starting to feel better though. Just that achy, headache, stomach ache, fever thing going on..hate it but I slept it off I think...for the most part.

Jesse and I will be heading to Santa Clarita this weekend to try and find somewhere to live in 6-8 weeks :) Exciting but a little bit scary..hope we find somewhere nice that we like. I am happy to be moving but not looking forward to packing up everything :)

AND I am graduating in a little over 3 weeks...yessss!! That means I get to see my family in 3 weeks!!
My senior thesis is due in less then 2 weeks..I just started it yesterday. Procrastinate much?

..firestorms..

It seems like basically all of SoCal is on fire, or at least everything around us. The air quality is pretty bad. The pictures that are in the previous post with the smoke, I can't see the mountains now and the sky is a light gray color. The fire moved quickly last night and attacked a number of cities. Here is a map of the locations that have been affected. We are the A and B has recently caught on fire.

..we've got smoke..

Here are some pictures I took from my balcony of the fire in Anaheim Hills, Brea, Yorba Linda, Corona...not sure what this smoke is exactly from but I am thinking Brea. It is the closest to us. At about 23 miles away.

It's too close for comfort even though it's still far away...I have been watching too much of this stuff because I just burst into tears on the phone with my mom talking about some of the people they have been interviewing..time for a movie or something. We have no cable so we only see the news right now and it's on every channel..all 7.

..sylmar fires..

Please pray for the wildfires happening right now in SoCal

I was up till about 3am watching the news and the situation in Sylmar (That is Jesse's new work city). The wildfire started in the foothills right behind Sylmar and then moved quickly inland and jumped 2 freeways. The homes lost is in the dozens right now but I know it's more...a whole mobile home park with 600+ residents is gone. Horrible. Simply horrible. The hospital in Sylmar lost power last night and their generators stopped working. They were bagging patients and moving NICU babies out of the hospital as it was approaching. I can't imagine having someone in that hospital...you think people are safe in the hospital. Horrible.

I called Jesse because he went to Manteca this weekend and they shut down parts of the I-5, 210, 118, etc. Basically all the freeways around his work are closed. He talked to his boss and they had to evacuate their building. The fire was in the trees right behind his building. They are basically pushed up into the mountains.

As I am watching the news, 3 more fires broke out in Yorba Linda, Brea, and Corona. The winds are terrible. 70+ mph. Damn you Santa Ana Winds...

The area we live in is fine, we are not on fire or are in danger right now. These areas are 45 minutes-1 hour away. But these places are completely surrounding this area..it's horrible. They are talking rolling blackouts possibly. It's hot down here right now (high 80's-90's).

Just send a prayer up for everyone down here..Sylmar residents, Oakridge Mobile Home park residents, Yorba Linda/Brea/Corona residents.

http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/index

..mr mraz..

Jesse and I were able to see Jason Mraz in concert. Ohh man, I love Jason Mraz..this was my 4th Jason concert. He is amazing in concert! I was glad that Jesse and I were able to finally see him together..it was a great night!! Enjoy some pictures and then some videos…wonderful!

I'm Yours

Singing some gospel music!

..health care..

My favorite commercial right now...I stop everything I am doing to watch it..why? I have no idea..but it makes me laugh :) And the couple makes me laugh and well the guys facial expressions too.

..rev. andy..

Jesse and I found the most amazing house on Craigslist. We have never used Craigslist before but this house was great. 4 bedroom, 3 bathroom, living room, dining room, den, washer/dryer, backyard (for our puppy we will be getting!), and located about 11 miles from Jesse's new work. Perfect!

I email the guy and ask him about the house. Tell him we want to move to the area and that we want to know if he owns the home, how much for rent, when available, etc. In the mean time I email my mom the link so she can check it out.

I get an email back within 24 hours from the owner. The email has a lot of errors-things spelled wrong, punctuation, just overall bad grammar. I am a little weirded out by it but reply back. The part that weirded me out the most was in the last paragraph. This is what he says: Looking forward to hear from you with all this details so that i canhave it in my file incase of issuing the receipt for you and contactingyou.Await your urgent reply so that we can discuss on how to get thedocument and the key to you or come and see you in person,please we are giving you all this base on trust and again i will want you to stick to your words,you know that,we do notsee yet and only putting everything into Gods hand,so please do notlet us down in this our property and God bless you more as you do this.Thanks and you are welcome call me +2348081342851.
Who mentions God in a business transaction? Soo weird! Ohhh did I mention he is in Nigeria on a crusade. What a great Reverend!! ;)

Well, we reply back and say we want to see the house before we sign anything. I am starting to feel bad about this..well not starting to feel bad, I already was thinking that something was not right. So I call my mom and I ask her if she looked at the house. She loved it too! I tell her about the email I got back. She then says "Melissa, you have heard about the Nigerian scams with banks right?" My reply "Nope" Well she goes on to tell me about them and then to tell me about people finding rental properties online and then posting them on Craigslist with their own information not the real renters info. The people eat it up! They send the check and bam! Scammed!

Well I decided that this was just too weird and started looking into it. Sure enough the emails fit the exact description of other scammers and then the item was flagged on Craigslist! I then found the house on a real renting site for much much more then what it was on Craislist. I knew that sick feeling in my stomach was for a reason, thanks mom for always teaching me to follow my gut! And for telling me about Nigerian scams :)

Now, don't think that Jesse and I would have blindly signed a contract and sent money to a random Nigerian bank..I am telling you about this because who knows what these scammers are capable of! Just be careful when looking to buy anything online and only do things locally! My lesson has been learned!

..welcome to hollywood..

This photo is causing quite a stir down here.

Yes, that would be Palin hanging by the chimney

and then McCain on top..

Extreme decorations huh?

..promotional tour..

Jesse has his promotional tour tomorrow :) Please keep him in your prayers ALL day. He is traveling around to different stores with his boss, other co-workers, his potential new boss (Sylmar), and a Frito Lay top executive! He is showing them his stores and explaining what he has done/is doing for the company and his district. Once this is done, his promotion is official and then he has the opportunity to take that job in Sylmar.

Ohh and Sylmar..that is the only offer on the table so more then likely (unless Jesse does not like the new boss that much) he will be taking it. Sooo we are "moving on up!" We started looking into Pasadena and they have some great places to live. BUT we do like Santa Clarita. We will be going house hunting in the next few weekends to see our options. We really would like to get a townhouse with 2 or more bedrooms OR at least a 2 bedroom apartment. I think we can find that for under $2000 a month so that would be wonderful :) Gotta love SoCal! hahaha

A map of our possible new location...we would be moving to the red cross near the top. Jesse would be working in the San Fernando area (right below) Now follow that down and you will see Pasadena (other possiblity) and then you will see Glendora which is basically where we are living right now.

I will keep you updated in the days ahead..we will know more VERY soon!

..life is a changing..

I am in the midst of midterms week. I have four this semester..my last semester and I have four. This is the most I have ever had in one week. I am angry. Okay, not angry just easily distracted (like right now) and that does not help with the studying.

Here is one of the big reasons I am distracted..moving.
Just a little update on what has been going on here and with our life in general. Jesse is still with Frito Lay. For him to be able to manage his own district we have to move. He is a district sales leader..meaning he is to manage his own district. He has not been able to do that because they are overstaffed right now in City of Industry. He needs to transfer to another building to have his own team, receive bonuses, and move up the ladder at Frito Lay. So last week his boss told him the first location that is in urgent need of help is Sylmar CA. That is about 40 minutes north of us. We went up there to check it out..and well, we were not impressed! We didn't find anything we liked about the city..at all. It was bad. So we went even further north to Santa Clarita. We found some places and more of a city there. BUT we would be moving out of Los Angeles. I have a love/hate relationship with Los Angeles. I hate the traffic, the fact that it was 95 today (yes, 95), the smog, lack of security (at times), and just the overcrowding. But I love our apartment, being in the middle of such a busy place, being close to everything I could ever want, and feeling like I am at home. When I drive around here, I feel at home. I know where everything is and where to go...if we move, I know nothing..and that includes people. Jesse and I are really alone down here too but if we move to Santa Clarita we are really alone. So Sunday was a tough day because reality started sinking in. We want to move somewhere fun or close to the beach or well, somewhere that we want to go! Jesse's boss told him today that he might be starting November 1st at the new place. What new place? We have no idea...I will keep you updated :) Please keep us in your prayers..this is a big decision for us right now and we are struggling and stressed out! It's coming quick!

..vegas..

We had a wonderful time in Vegas this last weekend!!

It was perfect to head there on Thursday night because we had all day Friday to hangout. Anna and Jake went to the pool while Jesse and I hit up Fremont Street and a Viva Las Vegas show..dancers and all! We laughed through most of it! We gambled a bit and had so much fun with Jake and Anna. Overall it was a success and we will definitely head back there. We can only handle Vegas for short periods of time..it's quite the crazy time :)

Here are just a couple pictures from the weekend

This was amazing!! Such a cool thing to see!

..vegas bound..

On Thursday night we are heading to Vegas for the weekend! Our friends Jake and Anna are heading there with us! It should be rather interesting since I have never been there and I know it's going to be crazy!!

We are staying at the Golden Nugget. Jake and Anna stayed there last year and have always wanted to go back. There pool has a swim-up fish tank and a slide that goes through a shark tank...should be pretty sweet :)

..la fair..

Jesse and I went to the LA County Fair on Sunday. The reason for going: Lifehouse. We love the band Lifehouse. We even danced to their song You and Me at our wedding. So you can say we like them...alot.

We had a wonderful day seeing the goats (Jesse made me feed them), watching cows get milked, eating a jumbo corn dog, watching people get hypnotized, and then going to the concert. It was Gavin Rossdale and Lifehouse. Both were great! We loved the concert and are so glad we finally got to see them live!

This one is for you Cerissa :)
Please don't mind the sweaty face..it was only 100 out.

We were excited to see Lifehouse!!

Of course, his hands are over his beautiful face..Gavin Rossdale. haha

Lifehouse was wonderful :)


You and Me

..world's greatest..

So what happens when the world's greatest athlete graduates from your college?

Well, let me tell you. You have a half time presentation for him, give his wife flowers, give him plaques, and then declare September 20th as Bryan Clay Day in Glendora Calfornia :) That's what you do!

Here is Bryan Clay He took home gold this summer in the decathalon! He is quite an amazing athlete and seems to be a really nice man. He runs at our track. Jesse and I have run with him..well not with him but we jogged the outer lanes while he was running and training for the Olympics :)

Congratulations Bryan! Can I babysit your cute kids??

..magic mountain..

We love roller coasters.
This is a true story.

We love to go to Six Flags Magic Mountain and ride all the HUGE rollercoasters. We went to Magic Mountain with our friends Jake, Anna, Geoff, and Jenn. We started the day super happy to be there.

Melissa, Jesse, Anna, and Jake riding the tram

It was a hot day and so we decided to ride this water ride that Geoff said we would not get wet on. He swore the whole ride that it was not a real water ride. This was the end result:

Melissa, Jesse, Geoff, Jenn

I was soaked all over my right side and you can just tell we are rather wet. It was worth it though because it was about 90-95 out. Jake and Anna decided they didn't want to do the water ride due to trauma from Splash Mountain at Disneyland a few weeks prior :)

Anna refers to us as the Extreme Team. I like that name too :)

Overall it was a great day minus the fact that Jesse's wallet flew out on a roller coaster. We had to report it as lost and sat around waiting to see if they would find it. They search under the roller coasters once they close. And guess what, they found it!! How crazy is that?! This roller coaster is known for sucking wallets, keys, cell phones, basically anything you weren't born with off your body. We were in shock that they found it on the ground down below but felt very blessed :)
I also vowed to never ride it again due to the fact that I was screaming my head off out of fear, not fun, fear. I am not kidding.

I am not good enough at this stuff so I have no idea how to put the video on here but check out this link and you will see the ridiculous coaster I refuse to ride again.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u_eKfNi2T24

I will say though that Goliath is still my favorite ride and a fan favorite. As is Colossus which many of you will know as the "Step By Step" roller coaster. Remember that amazing show back when TGIF was the talk...oh yea, it's one of the best ones around :)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rjCMYQt0UBU

..addicted..

Can't..stop...fake cutting hair...

http://www.taaz.com/

..topic..

During your Senior year at APU you must take a class: Senior Seminar. Many dread it and others dread it enough that they can't wait to take it (sooner it's taken, sooner it's over). I am in my last semester and put senior seminar off till my last semester. I have the most amazing professor who plays the guitar and reads poetry. He is a journalist and has been my favorite professor since January 2006. I am blessed to be in his class...but anyways..

Why do people dread it you ask? Well the big paper at the end. It ranges from 20-40 pages depending on your major. I am a lucky one..our paper is only 20 pages long. My paper will be 20 pages long, I am not an overachiever at this moment. 20 pages to some is small (sorry Gretchen I bet your thesis is like 9 million) but to others, it is torture.

This paper is suppose to be "the topic you always wanted to research but were never given the opportunity" Now please, don't let the things I am about to say scare you away..my dream topic is..serial killers.
What?! Why?! That is disgusting...why would you want to research them? I am fascinated in them. I have a sick fascination with Ted Bundy, Gary Ridway, Jeffrey Dahmer, and the list goes on. Why did they do what they did? What is the psychology of a serial killer? Did people see this coming?
I realized that I am not the only one...when asked about topics, the girl sitting next to me says "I want to know more about serial killers" Maybe this is my long lost twin...

Anyways, I will keep you updated on what my topic ends up being. It may end up being stages of grief/death, cancer, or serial killers. I seem to pick happy topics huh? Gosh..what is wrong with me :)

..appreciation..

I have a new appreciation for my friends and life long friendships. It's nice to talk with a good friend and to remind each other how special we are to each other. You are loved and miss deeply.

FINALLY!

We now have a new computer! It was our first big purchase together so we were excited and then bummed because that meant we had to spend a lot of money...but it is worth it!! So now we have a nice new computer and constant internet. We are living the good life..haha

-Updates on us-

I feel like I haven't updated everyone in quite awhile with things! So I will update and show pictures because well, pictures are more fun :)

Here is our one year anniversary weekend in pictures!

On our actual anniversary we took an aeriel tramride to the top of a HUGE mountain and had a nice dinner there. You start out leaving that little station. Our car is in that parking lot..check out all the following pictures to see how ridiculous this tramride was! Hanging from some wires and heading up a mountain...scary.

Now we are even further up the mountain..see the tiny parking lot!!
It was really scary but now I can say I did it! It goes so high..here is the website if you want to check it out or will be in Palm Springs and want to be scared haha http://www.pstramway.com/index.asp

Once we were there the view was worth it!!

Next up on our "anniversary week" was going to the wedding of Jason and Haylee! They are the daughter and (now) son-in-law of Jesse's old youth pastor. He grew up with Haylee and Haylee and I have become friends over the last 3 years.
The wedding was very beautiful and we had a great time!

Something unique that was planned was their exit with a tunnel of us with sparklers. Well the dj called for the last dance and someone lit a sparkler and then other people did too. So Haylee and Jason danced in the middle while we all had sparkler around them. It was actually pretty cool. And then they had more for the exit (thank goodness)Congratulations Jason and Haylee!!

This post has a lot of pictures and I have so much more to tell...keep posted!!

..coming soon..

More posts...and better things...

once we get a new computer :)

Stay tuned....

..lately..

Sometimes life flies by so quick and then other times it just drags! Lately it has gone by quickly!

Jesse and I had a wonderful time in Palm Springs! We can't believe it has been a year since we got married! The hotel we stayed at was awesome and we look forward to making that "our place" of relaxation. We got an aromatherapy massage, lounged out by the pool, swam, ate great food, and even took an aerial tram ride to the top of a mountain for dinner on our actual anniversary. It was just relaxing for us and a great time!
Then the wedding that weekend was wonderful and so completely filled with love. They are quite a cute couple that Jason and Haylee!

I am writing to you from my parents house in Washington. I came up for a week visit to see family and friends before I start my final semester at APU! That's right...I passed my math class and will be graduating on December 13th! I can't wait! That means that my family will be coming down to visit too. We are excited because we will know at that point where in Southern Cali we will be moving to next so they can see our new place too! They haven't seen our apartment now even. It will be nice to have them all down there again.

In sad news, my computer died. After coming home last weekend I discovered that the screen had gone out on my laptop. This is quite an expense to repair and the cd rom drive doesn't work right now either..there is no point in trying to salvage it. I took it to APU to have them get everything ono disks from my hard drive. And then she will rest in peace. So that brings me to not being able to post much in the coming weeks...

I start school on the 3rd and Jesse and I are planning a trip to Vegas on the 12th. Other than that life should be the same...kind of a boring post but hey, sometimes life is boring ;)

..shaky ground..

Yep, I survived another one. Who remembers the good ol' one in Oly on February 28, 2001?? I sure do. I was in high school and eating lunch with my friends..it started shaking, I stood up and looked around. Did not get under a table or in a doorway..nooo, just stood there in the middle of the commons and watched it all happen. It was 6.8

Yesterday, I came home from class to find Jesse at home working on some stuff. We talked for a few and then I went into the bathroom...yes, I said the bathroom. I then felt a little roll underneath my feet and then shaking. Big shaking..Jesse yelled from the kitchen and came running into the bathroom. "You okay Melissa. It's not stopping!" We think it shook for a good 10-15 secs before it stopped. And then it did a few little hiccups and then aftershocks started. We felt 3 of them. We are on the 3rd floor and we are the last floor so I feel like we felt it pretty good. It was exciting but scary. Down here we always hear "the big one is coming, the big one could come anytime!" So I freaked out and thought "this is it, crap".

We did however have a little damage. A wedding gift from a family friend fell of the shelf and broke. It was a really pretty plaque! And all our picture frames fell off the shelves or were turned sideways on the walls. Kind of funny actually. Not bad for a 5.4 only 7 miles deep and 10 miles from our house :)

So there is my earthquake story. It was a little weird that Jesse was home when it happened...he is never home at 11:40 in the morning. By never, I mean never. This was the first time. I am glad he was home though. I have always joked about being in the bathroom when an earthquake happens..and yes, I was. As long as I am not on Pirates of the Caribbean when it happens then we are okay. Random, but it is my fear-you are like 3 stories below the ground! Everything is wet and what if the power goes out!!

..these days..

My math class is almost over (one week from today!), we went to Lake Tahoe, met my mother-in-law's boyfriend, got new neighbors, booked a flight to WA, and are in the process of booking our first anniversary getaway!

Lots of things going on but here I am..sitting, watching Oprah, eating pudding, and blogging. Sometimes I think my life is boring...then I realize I need to study or clean, or do laundry, or cook dinner...you know the drill.

Jesse surprised me by calling my mom and asking what she thought about me going up to Washington for a week in August. It is perfect because I could use some friends and family right now. It's a bit lonely down here!!

We went to Lake Tahoe last weekend for 2 days and had the chance to meet Jesse's mom's boyfriend. He seems really nice. We will get to see them all again in about 2 weeks. Speaking of 2 weeks...our first anniversary is coming up!! How time flies!!! Jesse took the whole week off around our anniversary because he needed to use up vacation before it expired and it worked out perfect! We really wanted to go somewhere by the beach for our anniversary but the cost of hotels down here is outrageous! We would be spending close to $1000 for 3 nights. So we decided to head out to Palm Springs..a little heat never killed anyone..wait, yes it has, I am crazy to be heading there in August! It has been around 110 for the last week there! Anyways, we won't be outside without a pool anyways! We are planning to stay at The Springs of Palm Springs http://www.thespringsofps.com/index.php Check it out! It looks awesome! The King room has it's own jacuzzi tub and private cabana on each balcony...very relaxing! And we might be getting an aromatherapy massage :) Should be relaxing and just a wonderful time celebrating our first year!!

At the end of that week (August 4-8) we are heading to Manteca for a wedding! I just bought my dress today for it. It will be an outdoors wedding at 6:30 pm. As long as it cools off, we won't have a passed out bride :) haha Should be a good time though. I am looking forward to seeing Haylee and Jason all dressed up and gettin' hitched!!

And our new neighbors are two of my friends from APU...small world. It is nice having some people next door that speak to us though :) They are two really nice guys who I have done theatre with and it's a pleasure to have them as neighbors :) Until next time...what's new with you??

..no internet..

We have been lacking internet at our apartment so I am sorry but no real updates right now. Jesse and I are heading to Manteca tonight and then over to Lake Tahoe for the weekend.

I will update with pictures later :) Hope everyone is doing well!!

..little sleep..

Last night I slept terribly. All night I was thinking about whether or not I would get into that stupid math class. The reality hit me right before Jesse went to sleep..his last words "Melissa, you need this class or well, you don't graduate in December. You do whatever you need to do"

Well 8am came quick for me this morning and I headed off to math. I sat in the whole class waiting till the very end to find out if I was in the class...he drew names...my name was not drawn...

I panicked...then remembered the $50 bill in my left pocket, as a guy, who's name was drawn, passed behind me I said "I will give you $50 if you will let me have your authorization code so I can take this class. I need it!" His response "What?!" And then I pulled out the bill and offered again...his response "Oh yea! Sweet! Here you go..I don't even need this class!" He is $50 richer and I am graduating in December if I can get a 75% or better in the class :)

Before Jesse went to bed he pulled a $50 out of his night stand and said..."Bribe someone if you have to"...and so I did.

I don't feel bad, I am happy and laughing to myself.

..summer school..

I started my first and only summer school class. I am taking math at Citrus College. It is literally right next door to APU so it's not too far from our apartment.

Here are the downsides:
The class is Monday-Thursday

It starts at 8am and ends at 11:35am. That's a lot of early hours for math

I may not be in the class

I had to go to the class to add it this morning. They had some issues with my California residency and getting my transcript. A little twisting of words and answering questions in the proper way made me an official California resident. I have lived here more in the last 4 years, but won't have residency until September..technically. When the lady looked at my license, she said "Wait, it says you got your license on 9/18/07. You are not a resident until then." I replied with "Well, I got married so I needed a new license" (This is true..) She says "So you had a license before?" My answer "Yes" She didn't say California License.. so if I burn in hell for lying to the admissions lady, at least I saved $500 in June 2008.

Anyways, back to the real story, I went to class this morning at 7:30 am and waited for the professor. When he showed up, finally, a few of us asked to add. Thinking that because we were there early we might have an up on the other people. Noooo..he waited until everyone was there, took roll, and then took down our names. All 13 of us that want to add. There are only 7 spots. So because I suck at math I am in this class and I have no idea how good my odds are of joining..haha jk. But really 7/13 chance I will get in. He is doing a lottery drawing tomorrow to see who can add...

If I don't get into this class...I don't graduate college in December. Sucky.

..summer time..

To mark the official beginning of summer Jesse and I had a BBQ last night and then had dinner with Josh and Traci tonight! He made some great ribs, baked potatoes, and I made some Orange Jello Cake (recipe from my grandma!). We swam after dinner at about 9:00 pm and then went in the hot tub. It was about 80 plus out even that late :)

Yesterday for an early birthday gift for Jesse I bought him a tabletop grill for the patio!! I bought him a big steak and had some marinated teriyaki chicken too!

It was delicious and Jesse loves his new little grill!

It is perfect on the patio..his other BBQ is way too big..one day we can have a big grill out on the patio with the pool :)

A man and his grill...a wonderful relationship

..yard house..

**Disclaimer**

You are about to read about my experience and the craziness that is Melissa.

Be prepared and don't get too grossed out.

Jesse and I decided to head out to the Irvine Spectrum last night to walk around, shop, and grab dinner. We have been there before and it was such a perfect day for an outdoor mall! It was about 80 out and just a beautiful day! We headed there for the afternoon and decided to beat the dinner rush and eat at 5ish. I have never been to the Yard House. Jesse really wanted me to experience this place. They have anywhere from 120-250 beers on tap daily. It is insane..

So we sit down and order. Ohh wait..sidenote..

I fear uncooked meat.

Now let's reflect back on Melissa's childhood. I was at a young age when my mom took me and my brother to Jack in the Box. The year was 1993. The day is uncertain but the events afterwards have ruined my life. The day after eating there was the E-Coli outbreak in Seattle. Being a good mother, my mom was worried about us having eaten there. So she asked us all those personal questions about our bathroom habits and followed us around to make sure we weren't sick. I, nor my brother, did not get e-coli but the fear rages within me still.

Back to ordering...I decide to have a cheese burger. The waitress says they cook their meat on medium. I tell her, well, I hate any pink meat but don't like burnt stuff. She says she is the same and writes me down for a "well" burger. All is fine. Then the food arrives. They have wonderful shoe-string like fries with lettuce, pickles on the side..great! I start to prepare my burger. As I flipped it over I notice blood on my bottom bun..I hold down the vomit and pick it off (I was not kidding about fearing uncooked meat). I assumed/hoped it was something else but in my heart, knew it was meat blood. So I decided to investigate. I cut open the burger and I swear, it mooed at me. It was disgusting. I summoned Jesse to check it out and he was like "Yuck, that is raw Melissa. Are you okay?" Again, holding down the vomit..I waved down the waiter and asked for it to be sent back since I ordered a well burger. I showed him and he was like "Yay, that's not even cooked. I am so sorry." The manager comes over and offers me a salad..I take him up on it and then I get a new burger about 10-15 minutes later.

The next burger was cooked perfect..all cooked. But I take a bite and somehow inhale the meat and bun funny. I then proceed to tell Jesse that I have burger up my nose..has anyone ever eaten something and it get's lodged between your nose and throat?? Yep, it was a first for me. I start drinking water thinking that it would help. I end up kind of choking/hacking it up..disgusting...I know. I told you in the beginning this would be gross. After that Jesse and I get to laughing about how crazy I am...we enjoyed the rest of the evening in peace. Thank goodness!

..sunday-monday..

Sunday morning Jesse and I got up bright and early to head to California Adventure! The last time we got engaged but this time I did not receive any diamonds..

We had a great day filled with fun rides, a great dinner, and some funny pictures! Enjoy!!

Jesse loves "A Bug's Life" 3-D..I hate it.

This guy and the guy in red play Stanford basketball, well they did. They are going pro next year. Jesse recognized them so we stalked them on California Screamin'. We ended up riding with them..they are 7 ft tall :) Remember the Lopez twins and that I saw them.

Another thing I hate, swinging gondolas on the ferris wheel

Jesse loves them! Ohh he is cute :)

Even though I hate the swinging gondolas, I love him.

The engagement spot!

Jesse had to work on Monday...lame. But what is not lame is that Geoff is back in SoCal!!! YAY!! He is going to be stationed at Twenty Nine Palms till September and then is heading off to Japan for 1-2 years :( We will enjoy him while he is here though!! We had a fiesta..I made some taco bake, dump cake, spanish rice, etc. It was a great time.

The boys played Halo...and this is what the girls view was until we convinced them to play Scattergories with us :)


Lots of beer was consumed and laughs were had..it was a great night!!

..random thoughts..

Yes, this is about 45 mins from my house..

Yes, it is true that there was a tornado down here. It touched down (well 3 did) and overturned a semi and some boxcars. The weather was soo weird. Last weekend it was about 102-105 and then today it poured rain, huge thunderstorms, and power knocked out all over town. Weird...

I was told to leave work at 2 today and not come in tomorrow. I was fired..just kidding. They are really slow and there was nothing to do. So I was told I could go home..how often does that happen?? I think Jesse wishes that would happen to him.

Tomorrow we are going to Downtown Disney to see my cousins for dessert. Then Saturday we are going to Mission Viejo to a bridal shower. Well, I am..Jesse is just my driver :) And on Sunday we are going to California Adventure! We haven't been to California Adventure since the day we got engaged. When we bought the Disneyland tickets we got the 2fer deal so we are able to go to Cali Adventure 2 times. We are pretty stoked about.

Next up is my fascination with polygamy. Yes, random..but I really want to know who does their hair??? I am not being rude..I am serious..it looks perfect and extremely complicated!

My thoughts are random and I am tired. Time for bed and maybe some Friends :) Who doesn't love Friends!!??