Great Day!!

Hello ya'll,

Just wanted to let you know that I had a great day today. I was really motivated and really pushed hard in each class. Besides spinning I am loving Kick Boxing and cannot wait to get home and take a class at the gym. They have taught us some low impact moves that I will be able to use once I am home. The workouts have been great and I cannot wait to see my results from this week.

I did stadium stairs today and really pushed in boot camp. One of the counselor's says that I am an inspiration. That really made my day.

I'm off to dinner and then we are going to hear stories from our counselor's who have had some great weight loss success stories. One of our counselors, Jenna, has lost over 200 pounds, so we get to hear from her tonight. She is in the Marines and will be stationed in Iraq soon. I cannot wait to hear her whole story. I've been looking forward to this.

Well, I'm off to dinner, so I will blog more tomorrow.

Good night and God Bless,
Melissa

An Inspirational poem

SOMETIMES-author unknown

Sometimes when you cry. . .no one sees your tears

Sometimes when you're in pain. . . .no one sees your hurt

Sometimes when you are worried. . . . . no one sees your stress

Sometimes when you are happy. . . . no one sees your smile

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-BUT FART ONE TIME . . . . . .AND EVERYONE KNOWS!! HAHAHAHAHA!!

I thought this was really funny and I need to tell you why. A lot of my friends here at camp are taking Yoga and Pilates. One poor girl was all twisted into position and when certain things get pushed around inside you, you can't help but "Pass wind" as one of my friends here from camp calls it. So, I guess in Pilates and Yoga you hear a lot of farting going on and people try not to laugh, but I guess they can't help it sometimes. Just wanted to share this with you.

It's a Zoo out there!!!

It was so great to see the kids yesterday. They picked me up after breakfast. I rode the shuttle back to the dorms so I could get there faster. They were standing there waiting for me. I started to tear up in the van. They looked bigger. Parker has a really cute, new haircut and new glasses. He looks so grown up. He told me, "Mom, I look more grown up cause I'm going to be 6 on Saturday." He turns 6 on July 2nd. I will be at my Aunt's for the weekend and we are throwing him a Star Wars Party with his new little friends he has made.

We headed out to the zoo in Auntie's cool car that talks to you. It has the GPS navigation system in the car. It drives Parker nuts. He asked her at one point if she could shut off the talking and Auntie Heather told him if she did they would get lost. It was funny!

The zoo was awesome. We took the bus tour first, so you basically get to see everything. It is a double decker bus, so we sat on top. Tricia's favorite animal is the giraffe and they had a baby one. We saw a Baby Panda Bear. He was only 22 months old, but weighs 132 pounds already. We saw lots of neat animals that we don't have at our zoo . We saw Koala Bears. We went to a show that had several animals that we had not seen before. Tricia loved that. She is still trying to decide if she wants to be a Vet, Zoo Keeper or a paleontologist. Next we took the sky tram. It was like the one they used to have at Disneyland, but took out. Parker begged all day to go on it and when we finally made it to the entrance he said, "Um, Mom, I think I'm afraid of heights." It was so cute. Once we got up there though he was fine. The kids left at 4:00pm, so they could go sailing with Auntie Heather. Once they left the zoo I went on a picture Safari. I got a picture of a Mommy flamingo feeding her baby, hippos fighting and some other amazing shots. I was very patient. It took me about 15-20 minutes to get the perfect shot of the hippos and about 10 for my flamingo shot. Patience is definitely a virtue when it comes to the perfect picture. Thanks Dad for helping us kids love photography. After that I met up with some friends from camp and we walked around. It was great. I did fine with eating all day, but had to run when I smelled the churros and kettle corn. :-)

Well, I'm off to kickboxing. HIIIIIIIIII-YAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!

Long time no post

Hi Everyone,

Sorry I have not blogged in a few days. Some of you have been concerned. I am fine. I have been busy since I last blogged with some great stories that I do not want to blog about until I have time to sit down and do it properly.

I have had a few questions arise since starting my camp blog, so I will address those now. Someone was looking forward to pictures of my adventure. However, I am unable to do that at this time. I use the library computers. I am unable to download my pictures and put them on the blog. I will try one of the weekends I go and see the kids to do it from my Aunt and Uncles house. Otherwise you will just have to be patient and wait until I get home. Sorry!!

Some of you said you would like to hear more about what I am learning. I will let you know more about that when I blog some of my experiences. I'm asking myself some tough questions because I have figured out that being overweight has been a choice for me and asking myself why I have allowed that to happen and what I can do about it. I'm already putting down on paper what I plan to do when I get home and how I can continue what I am learning here once I get home. This is a great time to reflect and figure this all out.

I need to run for now.

Here is my schedule for this week:

6:30am-beach walk or jog/walk
8:00- 1st period, weight training
9:10-breakfast
11:30- 2nd period- kickboxing
1:10pm-lunch
3:00pm-3rd period- Boot Camp
4:00pm-4th period-Spinning- on a bike, not around in circles.
6:10pm-Dinner
7:30pm- nutrition Class (only once a week)
8:30pm- free time

Tomorrow I get to see the kids. Keith's Sister, Heather, is bringing them up here to come to the zoo with me. It will be good to see them. The kids and I need to see each other. It will give us each the boost we need.

Good News: I lost almost 3 pounds the first week and about 6 inches total. I will include more details when I blog more. The average a person loses in 5 weeks is between 15-20 pounds, but about two dress sizes. I'm more excited about the inches then I am the weight. I'll keep you posted.

Love to you all,
Melissa

Almost a Week

Well, it's been almost a week here in beautiful LaJolla, California. I cannot believe that I made it a whole week. There were days I didn't think I was going to make it. Last night I ran to the store and got a perscription for my heat rash, some gel insoles for my shoes and some blister care stuff, so I am good to go.

Saturdays are still the same schedule, but instead of my hiking class I am going on a beach walk, but besides that my schedule is the same. I let myself sleep in this morning and barely got to breakfast in time to eat, but made it right at the end.

Last night I went out on the town and saw a movie. We saw, "The Perfect Man." It was really cute, but I would say to wait until you can rent it. Also, there are some themes in it that I wouldn't want Tricia seeing even though she loves Hilary Duff.

I hope all is going well. Please feel free to email me at mommymeepa@aol.com I would love to hear from you and how your summers are going.

Oh, I almost forgot to tell you. . . . . Darlene is skydiving for Multiple Sclorosis. She jumps out of a plane at around 2pm your time. Pray for her and her friends. Also, she was diagnosed with MS this past fall. Please pray for her. She is doing well right now, but would always welcome the prayers.

I'm off to my second period. Hiking on the beach. I cannot wait. That's the highlight of my day.
I need to run.

From your favorite blogger,
Melissa

Tough Day

Today has been one of the toughest days. I still went to all my classes, but couldn't finish spinning because of a blister. They said that wednesday and friday would be the toughest hurdles this week, so I am very proud of myself.

Tonight is Movie night. I'm not sure what I am going to see. I'll let you know how it is. I'm so excited because we can get a small popcorn with no butter and a diet coke. Yahoooo!

I need to run. I blog about my last couple of days tomorrow when I have more time.

Later!!

Having Fun in the Sun!!

Hello, I'm having fun in the sun, but boy am I aching. The stadium steps are catching up to me today. Earlier when I was in the library I was looking for a book on the 7th floor. I found it and decided to add extra fitness to my day by running down the 7 flights of stairs. I was doing great all proud of myself. Then I left the library to go to my next class which is hiking. I made a wrong turn and figured it out when I was at the bottom of a huge hill. I then had to hike up the big hill to get to my hiking class and then had to hike on rocky terraine for an hour. The hike was the most challenging of the week so far. I actually find humor in this story, but hurt a little.

Last night a couple of girls and I had to run to the grocery store. I needed to get some Diet Dr. Pepper (and yes I had permission) and some first aid stuff (and yes I am ok). It was a full moon and we are by the beach, so we decided it would be neat to go to the beach and see the full moon. First of all, it was dark. Secondly, we had no clue where the beach was. Thirdly, the girl driving has night blindness. Needless to say we drove around in circles lauging hysterically, never saw the moon and never got to the beach. It was funny. If you don't think so, then it must be one of those
I GUESS YOU HAD TO BE THERE MOMENTS!! :-)

I got mail yesterday from Keith. He sent me some pictures that I had taken at Jordan's wedding and Mother's Day and our Father's Day celebration (we celebrated the day before I left, a week early). You get your mail in the office and I knew they would be pictures so everyone wanted to see and one girl looked at Keith's picture and said, "OH MY GOD, HE'S SO STUDALICIOUS!!" They saw a picture of Jordan and me from his graduation and missed that he was married and all wanted his email address. Don't worry Kelly I put them in their place. I told them the picture makes him look better then he really is. (Just kidding Jordan). I also got to cards from Darlene. It made my day. Remember I posted my camp address on my blog a few entries ago.

I love the walks on the beach in the mornings. It is one of my highlights and I don't plan on missing it ever unless I can't walk. We go around 6:45am. There are quite a few surfers. They are fun to watch. I talked to a man in about his 50's maybe early 60's that was getting ready to surf. We just talked breifly, but it was cool. There are kids surfing with the Dad's. Ladies and Men. If I was thinner and lived by a beach I would love to learn. Today I really challenged myself on the beach walk by jogging for a minute and then walking down a ways, but on the way back I was looking for shells. I found some cool ones, but my highlight was finding 3 sand dollars. I look forward to looking for more treasure.

Despite all the hard working out I am really having a great time. I realizing how much a lot of these women are hurting. I know that one of my gifts from God is Encouragement and it has been neat for me to see how easily it is for me to put this into action. People are figuring out quickly that I am a "Fundalmentalist Christian" as one lady put it. But some of them are asking me questions. I've had the comment made to me that I'm a nice conservative. I've also had someone tell me that I'm helping them curb their swearing, which they don't like doing because I don't talk like that. I'm really excited to see these things this early on. I'm excited to see where all of this is going to go.
Keep on Praying.

Blog more later,
Melissa

Tricia and Parker have a blog!!

Tricia and Parker have a blog. It is called Tricia and Parker's excellent adventures. Please read and enjoy and post comments to them.

The address is:
www.triciaparker.blogspot.com

They have already had some fun adventures.

I also want to let you know that one of my fellow campers found out last night that her friend was injured in Iraq and that he died this morning. Please pray for her. Out of respect I am not going to give her name. I was able to talk to her for a second this morning, told her I would be praying for her and that I'm here for her if she needs to talk. She thanked me. I just kept it short, but I am going to get a card for her later at the bookstore.

I need to run for now. Please check out Parker and Tricia's Blog.

Love to you all,
Melissa

Had A Great Day!!

I'm almost off to dinner, but I wanted to make sure that I let you all know that I had an AWESOME day. I really didn't blog how intense the first 2 1/2 days have been. It was some of the hardest stress I have been under.

I woke up sore, but feeling great. I really challenged myself in each class and did great. I really want to thank you for all your prayers. I am back to myself and the cloud has lifted that was following me around.

Highlight of my workout day:
In my bootcamp class I ran up and down stadium stairs 6 times. That's 6 times up and 6 times down. GO ME!!!

I'm off to dinner.
Blog more tomorrow.

Figured Out my Schedule

Good morning!!

I figured out my schedule a little better today. I will have two times in the day where I can make it to the library, so please feel free to comment here or email me at mommymeepa@aol.com

I have had a great morning so far. We started off going on a beach walk. I got some great pictures and it was just a nice start to the day. I opted to walk alone for awhile, so it was nice to just walk, take in the beauty and sing hymns and praises to the Lord.

I feel renewed. The first 2 1/2 days were tough, but I feel the routine is settling down and I'm adjusting better. I'm off for my Nature walk. I'm going to bring my camera one day, so I can stop and take a couple of pictures. It's awesome.

Blog more later,
Melissa

I MADE IT and I haven't died yet!! :-)

Hello Everyone, I have made it to camp. This has to be short for now, but I will blog more later tonight or tomorrow.

I took the Grey Hound bus to camp on Sunday. That was an experience, but not as bad as I thought it could have been. I made it and finally got to camp. I thought I would have a roommate, but I didn't get one. I was upset at first, but now love having my own room.

We are assigned a counselor and a group. I am with 4 other women. Rita, Anya, Shauna and Tina. Shauna and I have really hit it off and have a lot in common. She is here 4 weeks and I am really excited about getting to know her better. I am in a Suite with 4 other women. They do not put you with your group friends because that forces you to mingle a little bit. My Suitemates are Kathleen, Barbara and Debi. They are very sweet ladies. I'm bummed though because Kathleen and Debi are only here two weeks.

As far as activity goes we have to have 4 activity classes a day. You read it right. I am taking Step Aerobics, Hiking, Boot Camp and Spinning. I am going to drop Step Aerobics and just walk that hour until next week when I can get something else. Don't worry Boot camp is not as bad as it sounds. One thing they don't tell you in the beautiful brochure they send you is that you have to walk a mile to the dining hall and a mile back. So just eating we are walking about 6 miles a day. I probably walk a little less because all my fitness classes are kind of near the dining hall, so I just pack a bag for the day and stay up by the dining hall. I figured out that I have about 1 hour and a half between my last class and dinner so I will be spending it at the library reading and writing to you all.

I need to go for now. As part of your nutriction education you have to help serve meals to learn portion control, so I'm off to dinner early to serve my new friends.

Thank you for all your prayer and support. It has been a very stressful few days getting adjusted to this schedule and the new relationships. Keep praying.

Love to you all,
Melissa

NEW CELLPHONE NUMBER and CAMP ADDRESSES

I have a new cellphone number. For those of you who have it already the first 3 digits are the same and the last 4 digits have changed to 1257. So my number is 847-***-1257. If you don't have my cellphone number and you want it, email me at mommymeepa@aol.com I will only give it out to people I know. :-)

Also, I wanted to post my camp addresses again.

For letters only,
UCSD
c/o Camp La Jolla
Melissa Black
9450 Gilman Dr. 926000
La Jolla, Ca. 92092-7550

For packages and things like flowers, plants, balloons etc. :
(please no food)
UCSD
c/o Camp La Jolla
Melissa Black
Thurgood Marshall Residents Hall
10050 N. Torrey Pines Rd.
La Jolla, Ca. 92092-7550

Camp Phone Number- 619-435-7990

I'm off to camp!!

A lot has happened since my last post.

First of all, for all of you concerned for my well being there has been no more quakes.

Back to Kristi's graduation. It was beautiful weather and a nice day. Her graduating class had about 902 graduates. It took 45 minutes to read the names. The ceremony was nice, but it was hard to hear because of so many people in the stands. Kristi's name was called and she went the wrong way on the stage and had to run back across to get her diploma. It was cute.

After the graduation Uncle Wilson and Aunt Linda had some people over for dinner to celebrate Kristi. It was nice because some of them are people who have known me since I was a baby. Once such lady is Sybil. She used to watch me in the nursery when I was born and until I graduated to the Toddler class. She has since watched both my kids in the nursery and we have pictures. It was great to see her and catch up.

Friday, I did go out with my friend Tammy. We went to Lunch and then hung out at her house. It was great catching up. She is Karl's age, so she was friends with all us kids. Everytime I'm back in town we get together. It's always great to see old friends.

Friday night it was off to Keith's sister's house. Aunt Heather and Uncle Kevin took us out to eat. The kids ended up falling asleep in the booth after eating a little bit of their pizza. Heather, Kevin and I had a great time visiting. We went back to there house and I tried to stay up to visit with them, but kept falling asleep, so I went to bed. Saturday morning, we just hung out. Parker had a blast playing playstation with Uncle Kevin. Tricia had fun getting used to their dog, Dublin, with Aunt Heather. We will get to see them more down the road.

Saturday was spent getting ready for the trip. I had to run errands and repack my bags. When I was at Wal-mart I ran into a lady that used to watch me all the time when I was little. Her name is Kathy Richards. We have lost touch so I don't have any of her contact information. I was trying to look her up on the internet and couldn't find her, so it was really cool to bump into her.

Today is the day I leave for camp. I just said good-bye to the kids. It was hard. As they were pulling away to go to church they were yelling out the window and blowing me kisses. I could still hear them yelling good-bye as my Uncle pulled away. I held it together until they were around the corner and then I cried. I know they will be fine and I'll be fine while I'm at camp, but I have never left them this long. I probably will not see them now for about a week and a half. Please pray for me and them.

We called Daddy to wish him a Happy Father's Day today. It was nice to be able to talk to him. We celebrated Father's Day the Sunday before we left, so today isn't as hard as it would have been.

I need to get going. I probably won't be on the internet until tomorrow. Thanks so much for all your prayers and encouragement on my journey. I couldn't do it without friends and family like you all.

Blog more later,
Melissa

PS. Today is Karl and Sara's 12th wedding anniversary. Congrats guys.

E A R T H Q U A K E

We were in another earthquake yesterday. We were in the bleachers waiting for Kristi's graduation to start and I felt the earthquake. I said it's an earthquake and my Aunt Linda thought it was just the bleachers moving, but then her son Scott joined us, with his wife and baby, and asked us if we had felt the earthquake. They are saying it was about a 5.2-5.3 on the Richter scale. That was about the same as the one on Sunday, but this seemed a little longer. This area has not felt earthquakes in about 10 years. It's cool to be able to say that I've been in 2 earthquakes since getting here, but it has me a little nervous. I hope that this is all the activity I will feel.

I will blog more later. I'm off to spend the day with an old friend, Tammy. After that we are off to Uncle Kevin and Aunt Heather's house to spend the night and part of the day. It will be great to see Keith's Sister and husband. They love the kids so much and we love them. Write more later.

It's THURSDAY!!

Wow, it's Thursday already. I cannot believe how fast the time has flown.

Tuesday afternoon the kids and I met up with Keith's Dad, Dave. We went to the mall where I remember going as a kid. It was fun to see some of the stores still the same after all these years. Keith's Dad loves to read and have the kids read to him, so we walked to the library.

I have so many fun memories from this library. They used to have a bathtub full of pillows that you could go in and read. I would spend hours reading CHOOSE YOUR OWN ADVENTURE books in there. I couldn't find the tub and when I asked about it, the librarian laughed and said that everyone comes back and asks where the tub is. I told her they should get a new one.

Dave and the kids had a lot of fun. Parker has really picked up on reading this year at school, so he had fun reading to Grandpa. Tricia disappeared on us and read a whole biography on Rosa Parks. We couldn't leave the library until she had finished. Grandpa found his favorite book from his childhood and read it to the kids. He really enjoyed it.

After the library we went to dinner at a place called Souplantation. It is a Buffet of salad and soup. They also have a pasta bar and a dessert bar. The kids love it too because they have pizza bread and mac-n-cheese. If any of you have been to Green Tomatoes in Schaumburg it is the same company. If you haven't been go, it's good.

Yesterday, Wednesday, the kids and I went to work with Aunt Linda. I have wanted to meet her class and see her classroom. Yesterday was a great day to go because it was their end of year picnic. My Aunt teaches in a school that has a lot of kids that are a little less fortunate than others. These kids don't have much, so my Aunt really goes out of her way to do special things for them. Tricia and Parker had a blast and really got along well with the kids. I had them walk back to the school with Aunt Linda and the kids and they loved it. Then they got to sit in a desk and do an assignment at the end of the day with her class. My Aunt is so creative and makes her class very exciting for the kids. Not only did Karl and I get our creative juices from our Mom, but also our Aunt.

Afterschool, we came home, relaxed a little bit and then the kids and I headed out again. I went to Weight Watchers here. My Weight stayed the same since last wednesday night and I was ok with that. A lot has happened between then and now. After that my best buddy Jennifer came and picked us up and we went and had dinner at her house. Her husband, David, had cooked for us. BBQ chicken,steak, corn on the cob, fruit, beans, Tortilla Chips and salsa. Luckily I hadn't eaten much before Weight Watchers, so I could enjoy it. Their Daughter Madison is so adorable. Her Mom taught her to say our names and she does great. It is much easier for her to say Tricia and Parker than it is to say Melissa.

A funny story about the kids and Jennifer and David. On Monday when she was here she asked Parker what kind of food would he like David to make for him on Wednesday. Parker answered, "STEAK!!" Jennifer laughed and mentioned it to David. Last night when David had served Parker and got him all set up Parker looked at his plate and said, "Hey, where's my steak?" We just all cracked up and David said, " I have a little piece over here" and gave Parker some steak. It was pretty cute. It was really a fun evening and a great time for catching up.

Today is Thursday and we have Kristi's Graduation to attend. I'm feeling old. My little cuz, Kristi, came to our family as a baby and her adoption was final, I believe, around age 3. I am so glad that God saved our family for her. She has brought so much Joy to our family over the years and I cannot wait to see how God will touch her life and use her someday.

I will blog about her graduation later. I have stuff all over the house I need to get cleaned up before company gets here for dinner.

TAFN=That's All For Now

It's fun to be at the YMCA

My Aunt still has a week of teaching left as kids around here are in school until Thursday. She dropped me off at the YMCA while my cousin watched the kids for me. This YMCA is so tiny. I"m spoiled by the one I go to in Illinois. It was good to work out again. I did an hour cardio. 20 minutes on the elliptical, 20 minutes on the treadmill and 20 minutes on a recumbent bike. In all I worked out for 5 miles. After the Y I had to walk back to the house because I didn't have a car. It was a nice walk. I cut through Del Valle Park where we spent many, many hours with our cousins growing up. It was fun reminiscing while taking the walk. I came home and hung out for awhile with my cuz, ate lunch and then took the kids to the park. They had a fun time. Then we walked to a music store and back home. It was fun to show them different things that I did and liked as a kid. They are at a fun age to appreciate it. After we got home we had my favorite popsicle that you can't get in Illinois. It is called a BIG STICK. Only 80 calories and no fat. Later in the evening my best buddy Jennifer came over with her little girl, Madison. Jenny and I met in the church nursery when we were just toddlers. I have never met Madison. She is 18 months old and a doll baby. That was my day yesterday. Today is another quiet day. Later we might be going out to dinner with Keith's Dad, Dave. I'll blog more later.

WE MADE IT!!

YEAH, WE MADE IT!!

We left for the airport around 8:30am to get there in time for an 11:36 flight. We hit no traffic and check-in was a breeze thanks to those awesome curbside guys. We encountered a small line at security, but we hit no snags there except that the kids didn't want to put their stuffed monkeys on the conveyor belt. When I asked them why they said, "Because their scared Mom." Of course, I should have known how scarey it would be for a stuffed monkey to go in there and get x-rayed. Maybe the monkeys were smuggling something on the plane that they shouldn't have. :-)

We got to the gate about 10:15, so we had plenty of time to play. One thing I did for the kids is have gifts wrapped in their carry on suitcases. I gave them one at the gate while we were waiting and then I gave them one about every hour on the flight. It was great. The only problem with it is they keep asking, "When do we get our next gift?" I told them if they asked again they would have to wait 2 hours. That got them quiet.

We boarded the plane a little later then we anticipated, but with no problems. We were in row 25. Parker had the window sit to start. Tricia sat next to Parker and I was on the aisle. I always take in my surroundings when I first sit down. Older(not old just older) couple to my left. Young family in front with 11 month old Cole. Mom and two teens behind me, and bathrooms about 10 rows back. When you look out the window you can see the wing.

We had to sit for about 30 minutes before we took off. It was hot and there was a high pitched noise that about drove me nuts. I put my CD player on (someday I'll have an IPOD sigh) and the batteries died, so it was back to the high pitched noise. I was starting to get a little anxious. I don't do well in small spaces and did I mention it was hot? We finally took off and as soon as we were in the air we hit a BIG pocket of turbulance. The kids thought it was cool, but I was starting to have a hard time. The hard time turned into a panic attack. We were already up and I was trying to calm down because I didn't want the kids to worry. I started hyperventilating and I was hitting the Flight Attendant button, but when I looked back she was dozing off in her take off chair. I started to panic when I saw that and was hitting the button repeatedly and the man next to me jumped up and said in my ear, "I'm a retired fireman I will help you." He was wonderful. He had me breathe in a bag. The lady in front of me was a nurse, so she turned around and helped to. I don't really remember what they were saying, but it helped. They got me an ice pack and got me calmed down. He was taking my pulse the whole time. He said it got in the 120's and when I finally calmed down it was in the 70's. He also said I was threading, which is something to do with my blood pressure. I don't remember what it is though. I was so embarrassed, but thankful that they were sitting by me. Their names are Rich and Jan. My guardian Angels. When you say your prayers tonight please thank the Lord for them. They are special people in my book and always will be.

The kids were great. They didn't realize what had happened. As soon as I calmed down I gave them another gift. They were perfect on this flight. It was great.

The rest of the flight was pretty uneventful until about 1 hour before landing. I started feeling hot again, overwhelmed, motion sick and had another mini panick attack. No where as bad as the first one.. I had gotten a migraine from the first attack, so the light from the windows was killing me, the noise and the turbulance. They got me ice, someone gave me their black nap mask to block out the light. It was a lot faster of a recovery time.

I didn't want to share this story on my blog because I didn't want everyone to worry and it is kind of embarassing to me even though I don't need to be embarassed. I'm telling you because I want to make sure you pray that it won't happen on the way home.

When we got off the plane there were my Aunt and Uncle holding up signs that said, Tricia and Parker. They had them covering their faces. It was really great to see them. We got Carl's Jr. (one of my favorite California restaraunts when I was little) because we hadn't eaten since breakfast. American Airlines now charges for snacks. I did get a Salad, but wanted the 6 dollar burger. IT WAS HUGE!! I remember hearing somewhere this burger has over 1000 calories and over 100 grams of fat.

We drove by my old house to show Tricia and Parker. It doesn't even look the same, but that was fun. Some of you might not know I was born in Long Beach California and basically lived there until I was 12. That is when we moved to Illinois. After that we got to the house and just visited for awhile and then went across the street to the neighbor's house for a graduation party. I come to California every 2-3 years, so I knew the girl that had graduated. It was nice just to sit and visit with my cousin Lindsay and my Aunt in the cool evening breeze. Tricia also found a plum that looks like a brain. I will take a picture of it and post it at a later time. It's really cool!

After that we headed to bed. The kids are off at church with Uncle Wilson and Aunt Linda and I'm just taking it easy this morning. While eating breakfast and visiting with Lindsay I felt something and said really loud, "What was that?" and Lindsay says as calm as ever, "An earthquake." Yes, you read it right on my first morning here I got to feel an earthquake. Pretty cool!!

Blog more later,
Melissa

Tricia's Violin Recital

This is Tricia with her violin teacher, Miss Nancy.


June 4th, 2005 was Tricia's 2nd Violin Recital. She did awesome and told us that she didn't even get nervous in front of all those people. We were and are very proud of her. She has been playing for 1 1/2 years and someday wants to play in an orchestra. She would love to play at church when she is older.

Address for Camp

We leave tomorrow for California. I cannot believe that it is finally here. I wanted to post the address for camp. I have email access, but thought that it would be nice to get some snail mail every once in awhile, so please feel free to write, but don't send food. :-)

Here is the address:

UCSD
c/o Camp LaJolla
Melissa Black
9450 Gilman Dr. 926000
LaJolla, Ca. 92092-7000

I will have my cellphone with me, but it will be off from time to time. Feel free to leave a message.

The kids, Darlene and I are going to the new Six Flags Great America Water Park today as our last fun outing before we leave. Darlene is having a hard time with the fact that I am taking her niece and nephew out of town for so long. It should be a fun day. It is going to be mid 80's-90's, so it is going to be great.

We have to be at the airport tomorrow morning at 9:30am, so I probably won't get to blog until tomorrow night or Sunday.

Thank you all for your support and love through my weight loss journey. I could never do it without you all.

Blog more later,
Melissa

Emergency Root Canal

With only 3 days left until I leave for California I needed an emergency root canal. I've been getting major dental work done for the last couple of months, so I could be in tip top shape for my trip. I was told by my dentist that he caught a problem early to prevent me needing a root canal. He prepped the tooth for a crown that I was supposed to get put on tomorrow. I was in there getting another crown put on and told him how much pain my other tooth was in. He said, "eeeewwwww, I was afraid of that." Those are not words that you really want to hear from a guy who has his hands in your mouth. He said if it wasn't better in a few days that I needed a root canal. This was not what I needed to hear just days before I was supposed to leave for a 6 week trip and I do not like the guy who does the root canals for my dentist.

I need give you a little background about the Dr. Who did my last root canal. He is psychotic. I will not go into details, but as a person who is afraid of dentists this guy did not give me any reassurance and to be perfectly honest I was not looking forward to going back to him. I finally called yesterday to make my appointment and was greeted a recorded message, " Dr. ********, is out of town until June 15th, if you are in need of any work please call this doctor and he will be able to help you." As soon as I heard this message I just started laughing because I was so relieved that I wouldn't have to go to him. I called my dentist and he gave me another referral.

Long story short (I know too late!!) I went to him today and he was wonderful, calm, explained everything, didn't scare me. It was great. He got me all set up for my trip. I need to come back the day after I get home for him to finish my root canal.

I need you guys to pray for me though because I cannot chew on the side where the root canal is until I get back. That means for 6 weeks I have to solely chew on my left side. I have two missing molars on that side, so I have always favored my right side. At least I'm going to a camp where I want to lose weight. If it is hard to even chew my food I should do really well.

I need to get going.
blog later,
Melissa

Posted a picture :-)

This is me and my little brother, Jordan on his wedding day. May 27, 2005

I finally figured out how to post a picture!! Yeah, I'm so happy!!

This is a test!!

I'm still trying to figure out this whole Blog thing. I want to add pictures to my posts. Bear with me while I try and figure this out. If I do it right then enjoy the pictures.

Later, Melissa

1 week to go

As of tomorrow I have one week until the kids and I leave for California. I have so much to do so please pray for me.

Tomorrow is Tricia's Violin recital. I'm so proud of how well she is doing. She really knows how to make Mommy and Daddy smile. We cannot wait to hear her.

I have a headache, so I'm off to bed.