Well, I am feeling good and less overwhelmed these days. Chris and I are back on track. Today is his 26th Birthday (What an old man!) We have been getting up around 5:45-6:00 am and going to the gym together the last 2 days. He is done with school and is busy working on his other 3 jobs and has time to invest more into growing and expanding his "FLIP THAT TRAILER," deal. I swear would should make our own show! Everyone would be thinking where in Sam Hill is Pasco Washington? Ha! ---- I have been feeling pretty good and have been at the office a lot. My business is growing and changing all the time. I am trying to take more time for "me" so I don't get burned out. Between my young women's calling, being a wife, and work I get a little bent out of shape easy. I have been trying to take more time to say my prayers and read my scriptures and of course eating good to avoid burnout. The book writing is slowing down this week, more like research, I am putting about 40 hours in at the office so maybe next week. We still plan on trying to start getting pregnant about August so I have to get ripped. I have been putting pictures up around the house, one on my fridge and the other on my mirror in the bathroom. I do this a lot when I am trying to get pumped again. The one on my fridge is a girl with a perfect bum and it says, " You can't get to the top sitting on your bottom!" I love it. So I found this picture to pump anyone up who wants a hard rock tummy. Here ya go..... go get it!

Tagged by Kim 24 Things about Me

4 Places I Go Over and Over:: Work:: The Mud Hole:: Winco:: My Moms House
4 People Who Email Me:: Kim::Debbie:: My Clients:: Sherri
4 of my Favorite Foods:: Chicken Teriyaki Stir Fry, Turkey Burger with Avocados, tomato, spinach, onion over toasted wheat bread, Fruit especially Mangoes and Strawberries, Dairy and Sugar that I can't eat anymore :(
Places I Would Rather Be Right Now:: On a massage table getting the most miraculous hot stone massage in the world, The Caribbean with sand in between my toes and a super sexy bronze tan, at my moms house snuggling with her.
4 People I Think Will Respond {This means I tag you}::Siera:: Shelli: Emily::Wendy::

4 Movies I Could Watch Over and Over:: The Notebook, Grease, Dirty Dancing, any Old Classic Disney Movie

My world

So... I am alive, that is what counts right? I have taken a break from blogging because I have been so busy lately. I have been spending a lot of time with my mom and Chris has his LAST DAY OF SCHOOL EVER TOMORROW!!!!!!!!!!! Hopefully no more 10pm full course meals anymore. I can't wait and I am so proud of him for getting through it, it has been a long road for both of us. We took a trip to Portland a couple of weeks ago to visit some of Chris's friends who had an house warming party for their new house. While we were there, we went to the zoo and also stopped by Multnomah Falls on the way home for a little hike. I got some cute pictures and the best animal story ever.

On the way to Portland, we stopped at the rest area for the girl with the smallest bladder in the world, (that would be me) and on the way to the bathroom, this little gray squirrel ran right up to me. At first I was actually scared it was going to attack me or something. We had some almonds in the car we had been snacking on on the way up so I grabbed a few from the car to give to the little guy. I just threw them up on the sidewalk but he kept coming closer to me so I decided to be brave and try to feed him from my hand. By this time Chris was out of the car with the camera and our new little friend was filling is mouth with our gourmet meal. I couldn't believe how many he took and so fast too! Chris and I were discussing whether or not he was eating them or saving them and sure enough, with a close up picture, there is proof the little rascal had all those almonds stuffed in his fat little cheeks. He even tried to reach in my zip lock baggy for more and was scratching on my hands. It was the funniest thing ever, we laughed about it all the way to Portland. The pictures are unforgettable.
The latest and greatest in my world! I am crazy. Yes, it is true. I always have crazy business ideas growing in my head and big plans but I never really have done much with them. This last few months I have been trying to decide what I would really like to do. Since massage is so hard on your body and with kids, will be pretty hard physically to keep up I have always wanted a back up plan. Sooooooo...... this month I have decided to WRITE A BOOK! I know, I know, I am crazier than you thought! I have been doing a lot of research and studying. I am going to write an instruction manual for Massage Therapist. It is going to be a comprehensive guide to medical billing and practice management for massage therapists. I am then going to try and get the course approved through WA State and the National Certification Board of Massage Therapy & Bodywork to teach continuing educational classes for therapists in Washington. My goal is to get it done by the end of the year and teach at least one class in the Tri-Cities. You have to have 2 documented classes before the board with approve it for CEUs. You have to have your curriculum reviewed by a board and approved. I am been having a lot of fun researching and reading and I am getting smarter too. I have learned a lot that will help my business even if this all turns out to be a flop or I get burned out.
As for the food stuff., I am so glad that we have a health food store locally, that recipes can be accessed in seconds via the Internet and that my garden is going to decrease my grocery budget this summer. I have some new interesting foods in my house, tofu, soy milk, veggie and turkey burgers, so much avocado I think I am turning green, tabouli, couscous, fiber cereal, flax seed, goat whey protein, and artichokes. I had to get out the food dictionary to go shopping this last month literally. In my spare time, I read about massage stuff, women's health magazine, dairy, egg and sugar free recipes. Fun huh? This was my salmon dinner I was so proud of. Chris made fun of me for taking a picture. It was fresh wild sockeye salmon, zucchini with mushrooms, and peppers, sauteed in olive oil with tomato, basil, garlic seasoning, fresh lemon and parsley and couscous. It was absolutely grubbin.

Food Allergies

WOW! So.... I found out today what the REAL culprit of the headache/mood swing/crazy Melanie is. I am allergic to eggs and dairy products.... oh and cranberries odd enough. Not that I really eat cranberries but yep! This is good news as well as bad news. I am glad and happy to weed out the bad stuff but sad that sour cream and cream cheese are not okay. I like cheese and milk but they seem to be in all the things that effect my blood sugar like scalloped potatoes and ice cream to name a few of the faves. Anyhow, now that I have cut out the sugar for almost 2 months, we will see what month 3 brings. Hopefully less headaches, tummy aches, backaches and wife-aches!!!! Wish me luck.... I am turning into a Rabbit!

Family History

I have been doing my personal history for the last week of so. At the church book store there is a book called Share Your Stories MOTHER. I got it from my mom and I have been writing in it. It has been really fun. I love to talk about old memories and remember stupid things I did has a kid. The book starts out with your birth and asks 196 questions about your childhood up to your adult life. 3/4 of the book you can do up to your 20's. I can't imagine waiting until I am 40 to do it. I can't remember stuff now, what would I remember in 20 years from now? I bought the same book for my sister Sherri for Christmas and before I gave it to her, I took it out to my moms house. We snuggled up in her bed with my laptop and I typed as she talked and we got through the childhood section of the book. It is fun to hear stories about her childhood and have her help me remember my own. When I am done, I am going to take pictures of things I don't have like one of the house I grew up in and my elementary school and do a Heritage Makers Storybook. I am so excited. My goal is to be done with my history before I have a baby.

I posted this post on my moms blog and didn't want to tell the story twice so.....

Mom had her 62nd yesterday! YAHOO!!!!! Happy Birthday Mom. After many lies and hours, we were able to pull a surprise on my mom. For her Birthday, the girls and I organized a surprise Birthday Bash at the church for her on Saturday. We decided to do it a couple weeks ago and didn't have much time to work with. The picture I used for the invitation wasn't a great one but she doesn't have that many pictures and its pretty hard to steal stuff from a woman that is on top of things like my mom. She had no clue, not even an incline that we were having a party and definitely not one as big as we did. Prior to the party, I made up a big fat lie that I needed to use some of moms quilts for a church quilting party we were having and she happily gave me all her quilts to use. I had all the rest of the family that had quilts from mom bring theirs so it was like we had our own little quilt show. On top of that, her brothers and sisters from out of town were in on the party and came up to see her. We had them go out to the house earlier in the day to throw everything off. She had an idea that they might come earlier in the month but never heard back. However, she felt so good, she decided to go to the quilt show out at the track and was gone when her family showed up to surprise her. Dad worked his magic and got her back home to enjoy the afternoon with her brothers and sisters. She thought she and dad were going to the Bonefish for dinner at 6:45 so she didn't think anything of it when her family had to leave to go back to Milton Freewater. Instead they headed for the church to the party. Sherri called during the day(supposedly from Boise) to throw mom off, and of course that worked. On the way to dinner, dad had one of moms brothers call his cell phone and pretend he was someone from church needing something from dad and that he wanted him to come by the church. Dad stopped by the church to "drop something off," and came back out to the car to talk mom into coming in to see some neat decorations they had inside. Naturally, she pulled the classic, "BOB, I DON'T WANT TO GET OUT OF THE CAR, WHY ARE WE PARKED CLEAR OVER HERE, I DON'T WANT TO WALK, I DON'T CARE TO SEE DECORATIONS, COME ON"..... and so on." They pulled in on the side of the building they never park on but she came in anyway. She walked in to about 150+ people singing Happy Birthday and starting crying. It was awesome! The first thing she said was, " I want to know where this Bonefish place is!" It was hilarious, she kept talking about how bad she wanted to go to Bonefish for halibut. She was able to visit a while with people, but didn't get to see everyone one on one, as there were so many there. We had a little program, the grand kids sang a Hawaiian song lead my her granddaughter Kelsie Carver. Lisa Killian, Connie Schmidt, Becka Smith, and Tracy Taylor sang one of mom's favorite songs, The Wind Beneath My Wings. Sherri, Kim and I said a few words and we left the microphone open for people to share some stories. She was up in the front by the mic and kept making comments about people's stories. "You guys are lying," or "I don't remember that!" "Did I do that?" I went out to the house yesterday to see mom and she had a stack of about 50 cards and a few presents to get through. She was pretty tired from the party the night before but she was really happy. It really lifted her spirits and she felt special that so many old friends came to support her. She said that the party was the biggest thing she has ever had done for her. It was awesome because she was smiling so much and she told me that it was just what she needed. She has had a really hard month emotionally and sometimes forgets how much she is loved and how strong she is. Thanks to all who helped and to everyone who came and supported her. We also appreciate all those who pray on her behalf. It is hard to know what to to or what to say when you have a friend or a loved one ill or having a rough time. I know she likes to get cards and e-mails so if you would like to send a personal note to mom here is the information. E-mail: chriskcarver@charter.net Chris Carver 216704 E. Game Farm Rd Kennewick Wa 99337

Happy Easter everyone! I am so thankful for this time of year. I love spring, all the birds singing, my favorite little daffodils blooming and planting the garden. On my way home last night, I saw two little baby sheep with their mom close by , which to me is so precious. New life and a mother to watch them grow. I am so thankful for the gospel of Jesus Christ in my life. There hasn't been a time in my life where I have felt his love, grace and guidance more than at this time. My mom has been struggling to fight cancer and dealing with the anxiety of leaving this life. The only thing that keeps me going is to tell myself, "Mel, you will see her again, you can hug her again, you can be with her again, it will be okay!" What a comfort. It has been really hard to emotionally deal with things right now because she seems to be doing okay but I know she is suffering. I can't think or how much worse things will get because it is too hard. She is really been down because she is use to being able to go and do all the time and now she doesn't have the energy, and most of the time not even the will to. I know that through her fight, my family has been blessed. We are closer now than ever, we have stronger testimonies and we definitely all appreciate and love our mom more than anything. My dad had prostate cancer a couple of years ago and I don't ever remember being this scared or really that worried. I knew things would work out. As a spent some time with him yesterday afternoon, planting the garden, I couldn't help but think duh? He needed to go through that to have just enough understanding and compassion to help her get through this. He has really stepped up and been great. I know that she loves and appreciates his help. He has tried cooking and helps around the house, and when she throws a tantrum or gets mad about something he just hugs her and tells her to get better. I think I would do better if I didn't know how scared he was. However, my relationship with him is 110% better than ever as well. I have learned to love him more and more and am thankful for the things that he has taught me.

I love my Savior. I am thankful for the sacrifice he has made for me and that I have the opportunity, as well as my family, to live with him again.

I know that my Redeemer lives!What comfort this sweet sentence gives!He lives, he lives, who once was dead;He lives, my ever living head!
He lives triumphant from the grave;He lives eternally to save;He lives exalted, throned above;He lives to rule his Church in love.
He lives to grant me rich supply;He lives to guide me with his eye;He lives to comfort me when faint;He lives to hear my soul’s complaint.
He lives to silence all my fears;He lives to wipe away my tears;He lives to calm my troubled heart;He lives all blessings to impart.
He lives to bless me with his love;He lives to plead for me above;He lives my hungry soul to feed;He lives to help in time of need.
He lives, my kind, wise, heavenly friend;He lives and loves me to the end;He lives, and while he lives, I’ll sing;He lives, my Prophet, Priest, and King!
He lives and grants me daily breath;He lives, and I shall conquer death;He lives my mansion to prepare;He lives to bring me safely there.
He lives, all glory to his name!He lives, my savior, still the same;What joy this blest assurance gives:I know that my Redeemer lives!