Days 18, 19 & 20

This should get me caught up.

I also expect this weekend to be full of lots of fun, so I might finally have some great pictures to share. I swear, Al is here with me and we ARE having fun together.

Day 18: My Favorite Birthday

Phew. I don't know that I have one. I've had a couple great birthdays in my life, surrounded by family and friends, but I don't have one in particular that jumps out at me.

When I was 16, we rented a hotel and my girlfriends and I spent the day shopping at the Mall of America and then ordered pizza in the hotel. I also got my first cell phone.

My 21st was...well...a 21st birthday. I drank way too much. I probably should have been in the hospital. Instead, I ended up passing out in my class the next day (after handing in my final paper.) It wasn't pretty. But it was fun.

This past year was great. A bunch of my friends and I went to dinner and a comedy show. We had a great time drinking and laughing and we had incredible food.

All in all, I've had many great birthdays. I hope to have many, many more.

Day 19: Something I Regret

I don't have regrets. I don't believe in them.

It's not because I haven't made mistakes. God knows, I have.

It's because all the decisions I've made in my life: good, bad and downright stupid, were all for a reason. At the time, I wanted to make them; needed to make them. In the end, they were part of the "plan" for my life.

The idiot I lost my virginity to. The misstep I took in getting to college (which miserably failed.) Some of the decisions I made IN college. That "experiment" I tried. The "friends" I made (who weren't friends at all.)

And all the things that have happened in my life, have been for a reason. I am who I am because of them. I know what I know because I made those mistakes. And I wouldn't do any of it over.

Rascal Flatts - "Bless the Broken Road":

"I set out on a narrow way, many years ago,

Hoping I would find true love, along the broken road.

But I got lost a time or two,

Wiped my brow, kept pushing through.

I couldn't see how every sign pointed straight to you.

Every long lost dream, that led me to where you are,

Others who broke my heart, they were like Northern Stars,

That pointed me on my way, into your loving arms.

This much I know is true,

God blessed the broken road, that led me here to you."

I have no regrets.

Day 20: This Month

I have LOTS of exciting things coming up this month (October). For our last two weeks together, AL and I have crammed in A LOT of family and friends.

Thursday (Sept. 30): Fall-Chili-Party at my house

Friday (Oct 1): Parade of Homes - - Twins Game at night

Saturday (Oct 2): Visit Al's parents at the farm

Sunday (Oct 3): Dinner at Dad's house

Wednesday (Oct 6): Date Night - Just us

Thursday (Oct 7): Al Leaves.

{I am SO not ready for this. I feel like we've got a routine down. We've got a "life" together and I really, really don't want it to end. You can expect a whiny post from me on this day. It's inevitable.}

Friday (Oct 8): Ladies Night - 3-course meal for Minneapolis Restaurant Week

Saturday (Oct 9): Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Walk w/ Women Law Student Assoc. Team - - Boxing Match for HS friend of mine in Minneapolis

Monday (Oct 11): National Coming Out Day (Event for my roomies work)

Thursday (Oct 21) through Friday (Oct 22): FALL BREAK from School

I have a wedding to go to in Chicago on the 22nd. Instead, I think I am going to El Paso this weekend to visit Al.

Friday (Oct 29): Halloween Party at my place

Sunday (Oct 31): HALLOWEEN!

Days 15, 16 & 17

Day 15: My Dreams

This meme could use come clarification. Am I supposed to talk about a specific dream I've had recently, or a broad overview of the dreams I have for my life? I am going with the latter.

I want to spend each day of my life trying to be a better person. I want to be as educated as I possibly can be. I want to impact the lives of the people around as much as possible. I want a successful career, in whatever capacity that takes (although, I hope to at least be able to pay off the looming school debt and practice in the field I've studied for.) I want a family of my own to cherish, support and encourage. And I want to find the best balance between work, life and all the other things that go along with it.

Day 16: My First Kiss

Ok, so I have TWO "first" kisses. Let me explain...

When I was 5, my parents had a bunch of their friends over for a party. All of the kids, myself included, were entertaining ourselves in my bedroom/playroom, watching movies, etc... One of the other kids, who was 10, decided it would be "cool" to teach me how to kiss. I'm not sure how that worked or if he knew what he was doing. I sure didn't.
I'm not even sure it qualified as a kiss.

I don't know that I would have known the difference at the time.

But I can look back on it and say that I "think" it was a kiss and I KNOW it was completely inappropriate that he did that. Nevertheless, it was my "first kiss."

And for the years following, I proceeded to chase many a boy around the neighborhood, playground and daycare trying to "kiss" them. I'm told this is normal, but I think I had an unhealthy obsession with the concept of kissing since it happened when I was so young.

On the other hand, I had a very astute (and advanced for my age) view of sex and "where babies came from" as a result of a book my mother gave me that same year. So maybe, I just really liked kissing.

My actual "first kiss" - the one I actually claim as such - was when I was 16. I was a late-bloomer and it took me a while to get around to dating, kissing and the like.

(With the exception of my 5-yr-old escapades.)

He was a guy I worked with for a couple years and he'd come over to my house that night to hang out, watch movies, etc... The evening ended in a kiss. It wasn't very good. But it was my first, and for that it was special.

Day 17: My Favorite Memory

I don't know that this is a "favorite" memory, but it is one that currently stands out in my mind. My sister and I spent a lot of time fighting growing up. In fact, there are times we didn't really get along - at all! But, when we did, it was usually an entirely awesome time.

One such time was during the summer (which we usually spent at the lake with Grandma taking swim lessons, dance and art classes, going to the flea market and semi-regular road trips to Duluth to watch the boats and walk the board-walk.) One day, we were hanging out in the back yard swinging and we decided we wanted to recite the movie Lion King...in its entirety. The whole thing. Beginning to end. Songs included. We did voices, we sang, we did the whole enchilada. And it was an absolute blast.

I don't know why that sticks out so much to me, but it does. I think that time means a lot to her too. I sure hope it does...

Hello, World

Did you miss me?

Whew!

I've been catching up in my real-life. I go back to class tomorrow, so I'm trying to get all my homework squared away. Plus, since Al had been taking care of me, we hadn't really spent time together. We've been through half of leave and have barely spent time together outside of my sick-bed. Nor had we seen a large portion of family that we wanted to include.

All of these things still need to happen, but getting me caught up in class and ready to get back to a normal schedule needed to happen first.

But, I am also a few days behind here in the blog-world.

And for that, I am truly sorry.

Day 12: What's in My Bag?

Obviously, since I was sick this week, my "bag" consisted of a slew of medication and other sick-person necessities.

Day 13: My Week

I'm not sure if this is supposed to be a recap on last week or if it's supposed to look forward to next week and what's on the agenda. I've chosen the latter because I think it's more exciting.

Monday - Classes from 9-4, work from 5-9

Tuesday - Work from 9-1, Classes from 2-9

Wednesday - Classes from 9-4, Dinner at my Dad's house @ 6PM

Thursday - Work 9-5, BBQ at my place for all my friends @ 7PM

Friday - Parade of Homes tour during the day,

Twins Game in the Legends Club vs. the Royals @ 7PM

Weekend - Still wide open - We might go up north to the lake-side town of Duluth and stay the night one of the nights. We're definitely going to have some sort of date-night together, but we just haven't nailed down when and where. For now, I'm OK with that!

Day 14: What I wore today

Today was Sunday. I did homework, watched football, and did more homework, so my clothing was comfortable and relaxed.

Catching Up

Ok. I ended up in the ER last night when my fever spiked to 103.5 and we couldn't get it down. 6 days of fever was enough for me. Al was a total champ and brought me to the hospital.

Turns out, the original virus I got presumably weakened my immune system and I caught Pneumonia. I actually think it's been Pneumonia the whole time and the first doctor wasn't doing her job, but that doesn't really matter.

2000 MLs of saline and an IV of Levaquin and I walked out of there at 3AM with NO fever, completely re-hydrated and feeling pretty darn good.

The doctor gave me a script for the oral Levaquin to take for the next 7 days, but I am supposed to be mostly out of the woods symptom-wise in about 48 hours. All I can say is, it's about damn time. I don't know how many of you have consistently run a fever for 6 days straight but it is pure hell. Not to mention it's incredibly exhausting.

So, now that I have a clear head (antibiotic induced, but who can be that picky?) I need to take care of some blog-world business.

First, THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart for the get-well wishes. Many of you reached out here, many of you on Facebook and some even on both and I thoroughly appreciate it!

Second, Mrs. Z. at Field of Dreams gave me this blog award. I've already received it, so I won't be passing it along to others. But I wanted her to know how much I appreciated the recognition. So, thank you Mrs. Z.

Third, Lindsey at A Day in the Life of a Marine Corps Wife tagged me in this "Something About Yourself" thing. Here are my answers to her questions:

1. If you could pick your next duty station where would it be?

We won't have a "next duty station." And technically "we" don't have one at all. Al is currently at Ft. Bliss in El Paso but he will likely be there until his contract is up and then he has decided to pursue an education separate from the Army. Since I am in law school, we will not be in the same place until that time. It happens to be about when I graduate also.

2. How many kids do you have/plan to have?

We've talked about this pretty specifically. The deal is this: we have two. If we get one of each, we're done. If we get two girls we're done (because he's scared to get three!) But if we get two boys, I get to try once more for a girl. We're done at three no matter what.

Snip, snip.

3. What's one lesson you learned the hard way?

Trusting people. Knowing the signs of someone who truly cares about you vs. someone who simply says the words.

4. What is that one meal you eat at least once a week?

Spaghetti. Hands down. I LOVE pasta!

Now, I have to write-up a couple questions and tag some lovely blog-gals to participate.

Tag, you're it:

G.I. Joe's Wife

Kaylee at Small Wonders

Annoyed Army Wife

Ashley (Who's amazing BTW!)

My questions:

1. What's your typical sickness ritual?

2. What's your favorite lazy/rainy day movie?

3. What do you consider to be the most relaxing outdoor activity?

4. Do you play board games? What's your favorite?

Since this post is already too long, I am going to end it here. Tonight I will post Day 12 & 13 of the meme so that I am back on track for tomorrow. Thanks for your patience in my time of recovery.

Day 11: My Siblings

I have four wonderful siblings, which I will share in pictures.

(in order of age)

Day 10: What I Wore Today

I will grace you with this photo, because it's pretty much what I look like right now:

Fine, don't believe me.

Funny that this one would come up when I'm sick.

As I'm sure you can presume, I am wearing slippers, sweat pants, and old-grungy tee, two blankets and my glasses.

And I look like death.

You will not be fancied with a picture of that.

Day 9: My Beliefs

In my feverish haze, I realized that I can knock this one out pretty simply.

The goodness of people is what keeps the world going. Whether that's my God, your God, another entity or no entity altogether, most religions/belief systems perpetuate goodness and love. That's what matters.

I surround myself with good, hard-working, caring and respectful people, regardless of what they believe.

Some of friends believe in the same God I do, some of my family doesn't. I've had people in my life who are Muslim, Mormon, Agnostic, Catholic and spiritual in many other ways. And they're all good people, working to make the world better. Isn't that enough?

It is for me.

{If you want more specific details on MY individual beliefs, see here}

So...Here's the deal...

I am sick. Really, really sick. For three days now I've been up and down in temperature and fever and I finally went to urgent care today. The good news the doctor gave me was that I was good "at making mucus."

I'm thinking of putting that on my resume. No?

The bad news - I have a 5-7 day virus. There are no meds they can give me and I mostly just have to tough it out.

At one point, my fever spiked so high, I almost had to go to the hospital. It was 104. Yikes.

Luckily with the help of my mom on the phone and Al's assistance, I was able to get the fever down before the hospital was necessary.

Since then Al has been taking good care of me.

Running around, making soup, getting me anything I ask.

(He's actually driving me crazy - I think he's so bored that he has no other outlet for his mind right now and he's just being an idiot.)

At any rate, he's taking great care of me and I couldn't ask for better.
Ok, I could. Not being deathly sick during his leave would be better.

Until I am feeling a little better, I most likely will not keep up on the meme. As it is, this post has sucked all my energy for the night and I'm off to bed. Love ya'll!

Day 8: A Moment

I was going to talk about a couple sweet moments with Al the other day, or a great moment with my bff tonight, but I am so darn exhausted/drained/feverish/etc... that I just can't muster a longer story.

So instead, here's a link that my cousin sent today.

Here's the one that gave me my moment.

My alone-in-the house, spitting water out my nose moment.

(hopefully you find it funny, as even I liked some of the names they made fun of...)

This is for my niece, Dawn. She is expecting a baby girl in September. I suggested that they name her Dusk. What does everyone think?

I think her grand-daughter Nighttime would not approve. Or her grand-neices Afterhours and Graveyardshift.

Day 7: My Best Friend

I thought a lot about this one.

I am blessed to have a couple people that fit into this category.

My bff Linus, who's been in my life for 13 years (oh, that lovely day on the school bus!) It's amazing how one person can be a part of your life through so much: the worst times in Jr. High, and then the ups and downs of high school. First loves. Losing our virginities. First heartbreaks. College. Keg parties, hockey games and classes. The worst & hardest days. The most joyful. We learned it all together and for that, she'll always be my best!

Then there is S. You'll recall him from the roommate drama I just went through that basically ended our friendship of 10 years. I honestly thought he'd be around forever. That he'd wrestle with my kids; they'd call him Uncle S. I thought he'd be over for Super Bowl Sunday and holidays. But he won't be. Regardless, that doesn't detract from the times we had together that were amazing. All those memories:

When I picked him to be on my team for the summer bible camp obstacle course. And he screwed up, so I had to step in and win it for the team. The first time he gave me a ride to Perkins after church and I climbed into his truck. He said if I wanted to listen to music, I had to hold the antenna really straight, as he drop a boom box in my lap. Then a few months later when he got a real car radio. I remember late nights at the car shows, at the movies or just driving around with no where to go. I remember kissing him good-bye as he left for Marine bootcamp and welcoming him home when he returned. I remember writing him letters through his two tours to Japan and his one to Iraq.

He will always be considered my best friend.

But, really, when I think about who my best friends are, I have to add two more people to the list:

Al, of course. He's my rock in so many ways. We respect each other and I trust him with my life and heart. We communicate very well and have a great time together. He can make me laugh like no one's business. And at the end of the day, he makes me a better, more relaxed and well-rounded person. Friends don't get much better!

My sister, the ginger (because she's a red-head and a little spicy...OK a LOT spicy.) We have certainly gone through our phases where we were NOT friends. In fact, as kids, we fought. Like boys. Pulled out hair, drew blood, caused bruises. It was bad. I take a lot of the blame for it since I'm 5 years older and I shouldn't have been beating up on my baby sister. At any rate, we got past it. Past the crappy teenage years. Past the acting-out; rebelling against the parents; selfishly ignoring everyone but your friends. (We were both guilty of these things at various times.) But now that we're past all of those things, we are best friends. She is my go-to when I need a laugh or a cry. She's my confidant and my compass and often, my voice of reason (especially when the "reason" is getting out, doing something, and having fun.) I've waited a long time to call my sister my best friend, but she really, really is!

Day 6: My Day

Again, I don't think you really care about the details of my day, but I promised to diligently follow this meme so I wouldn't leave my lovely followers without something to read in my absence. At any rate, here was my day:

0530: Hear dogs ringing bell downstairs, stir Al awake to take care of it. He grumbles, but gets up.

0630: Hear dogs ringing bell again, both Al and I groan, roll over and ignore it

0700: Still trying to fall back asleep, dogs ring the bell again. Al gets up. I go to the bathroom.

0730: Al and I lay in bed, talking, kissing, etc...

0800: Finally get up. Shower. I debate over shoes. Get dressed. Debate over shoes once more. Decide I like my outfit.

0815: I check email, Facebook, blogs. Feed the dogs. Start breakfast.

0830: Realize I'm going to be late for class and decide that it's more important to me to spend time with Al then it is go to school for one hour of class.

0845: Eat breakfast. Realize I forgot coffee. Panic. Stop panicking.

0900: Finish getting my stuff together to leave for school.

0920: Let dogs out. Kiss Al good-bye. Start driving.

0925: Sing "Way Out Here" in my car at the top of my lungs. Curse a few cars in traffic. Realize I really want coffee.

1000: Arrive at school. Find my friends. Get coffee before doing anything else.

1010: Set up in the Lab at school with the intention to study. Look at Parade of Homes. Blog. Study a little. Look at Facebook. Check email. Study a little more.

1130: Finish my lab hours. Head to Cafeteria for lunch with friend from school. Gossip about classmates. Bitch about our boring professor. Talk about Al. Talk about her training program and new personal trainer.

1150: Text Al: remind him to go to the dry-cleaner and to get his hair buzzed. Remind him that I love him.

1230: Finish lunch. Get out Evidence book. Attempt to study. Shoe shop online instead. Read 2 cases for today. Take notes. Blog. Facebook. Waste time online. Read last few pages for today's assignment.

1400: Start Evidence class. Admire my professor's bow tie and homemade vest. Tune in and out while taking rigorous notes.

1550: Class is over.

1555: Stop by my locker at school and decide what homework I'm not going to touch over the next couple of days.

1605: Head to the library to print off my mentor handbook. Print handbook. Curse the library staplers.

1615: Stop in the hallway and mingle with classmates. Talk about mentoring incoming students. Talk about skipping the mentor event to go happy hour. Decide against it.

1630: Sit down in commons to wait until Mentor event. Start to feel a little drowsy and sick. Assume it's hunger. "Stalk" my mentor's in the school directory. Look them up on Facebook. Sigh relief that they're all normal looking.

1715: Sign in at Mentor event. Place name-tag on left side of my shirt. Debate with classmates that it should be placed on the right side so it can be read when shaking hands. Switch it to right side.

1720: Get Jimmy Johns at mentor event. Water is better then soda. Sit at my "team" table. Meet the Alumni mentor. Meet my first-year mentees. Determine that they are awesome!

1900: Mentor program ends. Stop at my locker and walk to my car. It's raining pretty hard. Curse forgetting my umbrella. Realize that the sickness I was feeling earlier wasn't just hunger.

1910: Call Al. Ask if he wants me to pick up a movie. We decide to watch the baseball game instead. Stop at the gas station and buy raspberry tea.

1920: Drive home. Road visibility sucks. Realize I am getting really sick. Most drivers have their heads up their butts.

2000: Arrive home. Yell at dogs to get off me. Yell at dogs to stop smelling my butt. Put my bags away and give Al a kiss.

2010: Check my temperature. 100.3. Time for comfy clothes. Curl up on the couch with Al and my tea.

2035: Twins homerun!

2040: Decide if I don't post now, I might not get to it tonight.

2041: Sick. Post blog so I can go to bed.

Love ya'll, good night!

Day 5: My Definition of Love

You can take all the love songs in the world:

"love lifts us up where we belong"

"all you need is love"

"I was made for loving you baby"

And so on, and so forth.

But what none of those songs do is really encompass what love is.

To me, love is respect . It's trust and communication. It's hard work.

Love is family and support; it's a verb more then anything I know.

Did I mention that it takes work?

I think so many people confuse lust and romance with love. Love has nothing to do with the knot in your stomach or the butterflies you feel when "he/she" walks into the room. It's not about the flowers and feel-good poems. It's not even about compatibility and friendship.

It's about being willing, for that person, to put yourself on the line. To put everything you are on the table and work every day at giving that person the best you have. Love is the best thing you can do for someone and should be done regardless of what is being received.

In the bible, God uses "agape" to describe the eternal, selfless love that God has for all people. Regardless of your beliefs on religion, if we all look at love as a working, selfless, giving thing, I think we'd all be a little better off.

Day 4: What I Ate Today

This one is a little weird, do ya'll really care what I ate today?

Anyway, here goes...

Breakfast:

Coffee (duh!)

Apple Sauce

Granola Thins

Lunch:

Egg salad sandwich

Peach

100 calorie yogurt pretzels

Diet Dr. Pepper

Midafternoon Snack:

Apple

Sm. bag of Fritos

2 Hershey's kisses

Diet Dr. Pepper (yes, I drink WAY too much of this!)

Dinner:

Whole wheat pasta & spaghetti sauce

2 pieces of whole grain bread

1 glass of milk

I'm still waiting on dessert...maybe a Skinny Cow White Mint & Truffle ice cream bar...Yep. Delish!

There you have it folks. Eat up!

Our Weekend

I wanted to give ya'll an overview of our first reuinted weekend.

On Thursday, after I picked him up at the airport, we went to lunch with my parents. We then packed up a few things at my place and headed out to the farm for the night.

He wanted to see his dad, pick-up his car that's been stored there, and "say hi to the farm."

(His words. Not mine. I think he's weird.)

We made it out there with enough time to watch the Vikings season opener game against the Saints.
I won't get into my sentiments on the game (we were completely robbed in the playoffs last year and wanted retribution this time around), but I was sorely dissappointed.

On the plus side, we got to watch the game from Dad D's new 3D TV.

Aren't the glasses cool?

The next morning (Friday) I did homework while Al and his dad worked on Al's car. He needed to get his Minnesota plates since he'd paid his car loan off during deployment and transferred the title to Minnesota. He also needed to change the oil, tires, etc... and basic upkeep for a car that hasn't been driven in 9 months. Once those things were out of the way, we ran into town for lunch and to spend a little more time with Dad D before we left for the cities.

Starting Friday evening, we "moved in" to a family friend's house. We are dog and house sitting while they are in Hawaii. It's actually perfect because we get the place to ourselves and get to "play house" during this time. No roommates, no parents, just us.

We went grocery shopping and picked up wine for the week.

We picked up a couple things for the house.

It's really like we live together and so far, it's been amazing.

The only thing I will say is that I am seriously reconsidering dogs. Their dogs are well-trained. They ring a bell by the door when they need to go out, the follow commands pretty well.

But I think due to the fact that they are both under 3 years (one is under 1-yr-old) and they are show-dogs (one is a Champion), they are spoiled. A LOT.

They get special food and strict rules on toys, bones, etc... And they're allowed to run the house. I don't mind most of it, except that the owners will get up in middle of the night to let them out, which I find ludacris. My family has dogs and NONE of them have to get up in the middle of the night except for my grandma - but her dog has diabtetes.

Having to get up in the middle of the night should be reserved for babies, not dogs.

Don't tell Al I said that though... Shhh!

The rest of our weekend was pretty mellow. We went on a walk around the neighborhood with the dogs, looking at houses for sale and trying to get a feel of what our house-styles are.

We went to church on Sunday and out with my parents for lunch. We visited with some of his family (he hadn't met his niece yet) on Sunday evening.

We stopped by my grandparent's house to visit for a bit and on the way back hit an outlet mall. We both got a few nice things for good prices. While I was in Old Navy picking up a couple new shirts, Al asked for my earrings.

(Last year, he bought me a pair of diamond stud earrings. They were simple but pretty. He bought them through a jeweler that allows upgrades and puts the price you spent on the original pair towards the upgrade if you bring the originals in.)

He brought them into the store and we upgraded.

Gorgeous, huh?

Since this post is already too long, I will leave you with a conversation Al and I had Saturday night.

We were curled up together (I was reading for school and he was working on a printing machine he bought) and we had "Say Yes to the Dress" on in the background.

In the show, one of the brides said that she knew she was going to marry her fiance when she went over her "list" of qualities for her future mate and he met every single one of them.

Me: You meet almost all the qualifications on my list

Al: Which ones don't I meet?

Me: Superficial, unimportant ones. They're not deal-breakers.

Al: {nods} I don't have a list, but if I did it would read "Melissa"

Cute, huh?!

Day 3: Your Parents

Many people spend their lives figuring out what they want to be "when they grow up" and working hard to get there. For my mom, the first part was easy. She wanted to be a mother, plain and simple. Making that happen was the hard part.

My mother spent a lot of money and time, and went through a lot of heartache to conceive me (and later my sister.) She went through numerous miscarriages and visited doctors to address concerns and was blessed along the way with two babies.

As any woman who was lucky enough to have children, despite the obstacles, she has devoted her entire life to being a mother. She would have loved to stay home and focus on being a mother and wife, but it simply wasn't possible. My dad was working on his degree (they were pretty young, after all) and delivering pizzas. Mom had to work just to make ends meet.

Although she's held a few different jobs throughout her life and been married more then once, I know she would say her greatest achievement is motherhood. I would agree.

She has given so much of herself to making sure my sister had everything we ever needed. Sometimes she was making her own bread and barely paying the bills, especially when she was a single mom. But, I can say without reservation, that she always has sacrificed herself so we could be happy. Never once, through all the hard times, did I doubt that I was loved, cared for and supported. She's an angel.

ooo

I could say a few words about my dad; tell you he's a nice guy and always loved me. Those things are true. But what's also true is that he's always been better at the fun stuff - pizza and movie nights, coaching my little league softball, and cracking jokes - then he ever was at the important stuff. Dad never disciplined or sent money or helped with homework.

He's always been the guy who thinks loving me "a whole heap of a lot" was what I needed from my father. But it wasn't.

Which is where my step-dad comes in.

He's an amazing man, who not only loves my mom, but came into our lives at a time when I was just about to leave for college and my sister was in the hell-years of being a teenager. Never once did he waiver in taking on this role. And he has managed to provide everything for our family we could possibly ask for.

He is the reason I can change a tire, shoot a gun and throw a good punch. He is the reason I work hard, manage my money and rely on only myself to get the things I want in life. He taught me how to be an independent woman. For these things, I am eternally grateful.

I am so blessed to have an amazing set of parents. I couldn't ask for anything better.

Day 2: Your First Love

I've actually told this story here.

But if I were to be more accurate, my first love was baseball.

When I was 3 and someone asked me what my name was, my answer was always

"Kiiiiiiiirbeeeee Pucketttttttttt"

Yep, apparently my name was not Melissa, but was actually Kirby Puckett. And I said it just like the TV announcers used to. It was cute until I was 10.

Kidding.

Later that same year (for my birthday) I waited in line with my parents to meet Kirby Puckett. To this day, we have a framed photo of us which hung behind my Opa's desk in Germany for 30 years. It now sits on display in their basement. And someday it will be mine.

I love the feel of the bat when you connect with a baseball. I love the smell of fresh grass and the noise of a ballpark. I love hot dogs and beer and Cracker Jacks. I love the whole game.

Baseball was my first love until my first love came along.

Day 1: Introduction

By now, most of you know me pretty well.

Instead of running down a "nutshell" about me, I am going to tell you 5 interesting facts that you may not already know:

1. Once, when I was 17, I read an article in Cosmo that informed me the least used stall in a public bathroom was the one closest to the door. I was convinced that EVERYONE was going to read that article and start using that stall, so instead, I started using the 2nd one from the door. To this day, I go immediately to the 2nd stall in every public bathroom.

2. In high-school, I would have given anything to be a star athlete. I've never had any natural athletic ability and I never wanted to work hard enough to get it. I was a brain and a personality, but in my school, sports was so much more important.

3. I have only one real fear: that I will get cancer young as a result of my HPV and never get to see the beautiful babies AL and I can produce. I want to be on this earth long enough to meet that child.

4. I love being the oldest child and I'm exactly as you'd expect the oldest child to be: bossy. Although I like to say that I am controlling because I want so much for my siblings to be happy and successful people. I want them to learn, love, live and experience life in every way possible. I am also protective and unyieldingly loyal to (most specifically, Ginger) those kids.

5. I love writing. I want to write a book someday, but I want to write about something that no one else has. I don't want to write another milso saga (although I love them) and I don't want to write the story of my time in law school. I want to write something interesting, compelling and unique. Until I figure out what that is, my blog will have to serve as my writing outlet.

I look forward to starting 30-day journey with ya'll and I hope you'll stick around.

Enjoy learning more about me over the next 30 days!

Our Homecoming!

He woke up this morning to work on his car with his dad. It's been sitting out at the farm, bearing the elements, so he needs a new battery and to make sure everything else is in working order. This gives me a chance to blog for a minute and squeeze some homework in.

Few words really need to be said here.

He's finally home and I am eternally happy!

Waiting, wringing my hands (my step-dad is working)

Mom told me to get my lips "kissing ready"

My step-dad made a joke about Al getting cold feet and turning around to head back to TX. This was my face in response.

Then he called to say his plane had landed, but it would be a bit because he was in the back of the plane. He said it would be a hours. And let me tell you, it felt like it.

But it was worth it.

Now, since he's here for a month and between quality time together, family and the fact that I still have class and work to attend to - I will be blogging less for the next 30 days.

I promise to give you important updates on cool things we do and share LOTS of pictures of our time together. But insightful, detailed posts will be less prominent.

Instead, I will start the "30 days" thing I've seen a couple of you do.

You can still have a little dose of me everyday (and after reading through them, they will likely tie-in quite well to this month with Al.) Plus, some of them I can set up in advance and let Blogger do the work.

I hope you will stick with me through this time. I promise I will keep up on reading your blogs and commenting when I can. I also promise I will be back to my blogging-self.

In the mean time, I have more important things to get my hands on. {wink, wink}

Preview of what's to come:

Day 1 - Introduction

Day 2 - Your First Love

Day 3 - Your Parents

Day 4 - What you ate today

Day 5 - Your Definition of Love

Day 6 - Your Day

Day 7 - Your Best Friend

Day 8 - A moment

Day 9 - Your Beliefs

Day 10 - What you Wore Today

Day 11 - Your Siblings

Day 12 - What's in Your Bag?

Day 13 - This Week

Day 14 - What you Wore Today

Day 15 - Your Dreams

Day 16 - Your First Kiss

Day 17 - Your Favorite Memory

Day 18 - Your Favorite Birthday

Day 19 - Something you Regret

Day 20 - This Month

Day 21 - Another Moment

Day 22 - Something that upsets you

Day 23 - Something that makes you feel better

Day 24 - Something that makes you cry

Day 25 - A First

Day 26 - Your Fears

Day 27 - Your Favorite Place

Day 28 - Something that you Miss

Day 29 - Your Aspirations

Day 30 - One Last Moment