Goodbye 2011

This year has gone by way too quickly, just as it seems all years do. What I take with me from 2011, are such beautiful memories, ones I will always hold close to my heart.

- I was given the honor of marrying the perfect man, for me. A man that I am so fortunate to have met and get to experience all the joys and difficulties in life with. I could have not found a better match, and I am grateful for him every.single.day.of.my.life.

- With our wedding, came the wonderful opportunity of spending quality time with my loved ones. A lot of it. I can not ask for a better gift than that.

There are many things I am grateful for. Our health, our home, our dogs, our families and our dearest friends. The list could go on, but if you know me, just know that you are truly loved.

While 2011 was filled with many special moments, there are definitely things that I would like to change for 2012. So I am writing them here as my 2012 goals.

1) I want to be healthier. I want to look healthier and I want to feel healthier
2) I want to make exercise fun and something I look forward to most days of the week
3) I want to fix the husband's and my schedules so we are able to spend more time together
4) I want to spend more time with my family members
5) I want to start a family of our own
6) I want to finish the two rooms in our home that we now use as oversized closets
7) I want to take our dogs on more walks
8) I want to swim in our pool every day this summer
9) I want to figure out what I'm suppose to be doing with my nursing career
10) I want to go on a vacation for our 1st anniversary
11) I want to go out more and experience more of what is beyond our home's walls
12) I want to go to Six Flags once
13) I want to go apple picking in the Fall
14) I want to go to a Haunted House
15) I want to continue holiday traditions and start new ones
16) I want to give to a family in need during the holidays
17) I want to do a better job of keeping my house clean all the time
18) I want to plant flowers and make our house pretty from the outside
19) I want to do more with my life, and sleep less
20) I want to be happy

I hope 2011 treated you well and that 2012 treats you better!

A New Life

At this time last week, my best friend was in labor for over 33 hours. On December 16th, 2011 at 849pm, Caden William Nash was born into this beautiful world weighing 8lbs 11oz.

The emotions I have felt through my best friend's pregnancy and now birth, are something I will never forget. To have someone so close to you have a baby, is an amazing feeling and I am so blessed to have been part of all of it.

More Excitement Needed

I was on such a roll in the beginning of 2011, blogging, cooking and possibly leading a somewhat exciting life! All that kind of stopped after our wedding and we have been left with work, work and not much of anything else.

It's been an interesting few months in this household, not all good and fabulous but nothing horrible. As the holidays approach I'm focusing on all the good things in our lives. How lucky I feel every day to be married to someone I enjoy so very much and miss almost every day we don't get to see each other (which has been A LOT!) I'm excited to be having our first Christmas in our home with both our families. It's always slightly humorous to get my family and his together. They don't always know how to communicate to each other!

I am looking forward to 2012, and its only about 3 weeks away! I plan on making our lives much more exciting so I can document it for myself and anyone else who wants to read! Until then, a picture of Dan and I, 5 years ago on Christmas Eve- ahh love!

The Important People in Life

There are many stages in life, and through these different stages, many things in life change. What once was important to you at the ripe old age of 12, is probably a distant memory at the young age of 28.

I've been to four different schools in my life, lived in six different places, worked at six different jobs and been through many different "phases."

I've been the shy girl who would only speak to her parents.

I've been the awkward adolescent crushing on the same boy for six whole years, who never knew.

I've been the outgoing rebellious high school student who tried to be friends with everyone.

I've been the party girl who tried her hardest to be studious, while enjoying every bit of her late teens and early twenties.

I've met many people who have changed my life for the moment, but only a few that I hold dear to my heart.

Friendships are funny. You may have many acquaintances in life, but the true friends are the most special people you will meet. They are the ones that through the years and all the changes, that will always be there. They will always listen, be there when needed, and no matter how much times goes by, be the ones that always make you feel that no time has passed.

I can count those friends on half of my hand. I wouldn't change that for anything. To my dearest friends, I do love you.

October Falls Upon Us

We are officially in the tenth month of the year...wow that went by quick! I can still recall the Mr.'s 30th birthday party back in January!

At that time we were still doing all the wedding planning and everything else that comes with it! Half of me is happy the stress of it is over. The other half secretly would like to go back to that day and watch it all as a fly on the wall. I know I'll have the chance as soon as the wedding video is done!

Now here we are in October, a month that I love for many reasons.

Source

Reasons I love October

In October 1st of 2004, the Mr. and I had our very first date!

This month holds many birthdays of the ones I love! My best friends all have their birthdays in this month. I guess my personality mixes well with those born in this month?!?

The leaves change and while I am sad to say goodbye to beautiful summer weather, I look forward to less humid days and cool crisp nights.

It's one of my best friend's baby showers in 2 weeks! In about 10 weeks we'll be able to meet her little guy and I'm so unbelievably happy for her.

The start of the holiday season is near! Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years Eve..... I'll be working for most of them, but I look forward to whatever time I get to spend with my family.

Last, I am definitely looking forward to cooking all the yummy classics that we pass up during the warmer months. Chili, soups, pastas, and pure comfort foods.

Can't wait for what the fall will bring!

My Husband, My Friend

It's not every day that I take a glimpse back into our earlier years when the infamous husband did not exist in my life. For 21 years of my life, I had no idea that this wonderful person was experiencing his life, and learning all the fabulous things that one day would make me swoon.

While life before I met him was fabulous, I can recall always being the single girl amongst my friends. I was always that third wheel that tagged along. Sometimes it would bother me, but for the most part I was happy. I didn't understand how my friends could go from guy to guy, calling them their boyfriends in a day and telling them they loved them in a week. I didn't know from personal experience but I assumed that it just didn't work like that if it were REAL.

My friends would tell me not to worry, when it was my time I would be the one that found the one, first shot. They were correct my friends. When I met him, it was a feeling I had never experienced before and one that I will hold onto forever.

My life definitely would not be complete if he were not in it. He is by far my favorite person and I value all of the time we have together. He is my best friend and I truly believe that he is my soul mate.

So do me a favor please. Hug and kiss your loved one as much as you can because as we said in our vows,

For one lifetime with you could never be enough.

Time to Shape it Up

After all the excitement of the wedding, life seems pretty B-O-R-I-N-G right now. There is nothing huge to plan, nothing too exciting to look forward to, and my days seem rather dull. Don't get me wrong, I am happy but life is missing something.

 Maybe it's the beautiful moment captured here.

Or the fact I miss doing this!

So I think it's time to fix that! It's time to make more special moments with the beautiful people I surround myself with. After seeing some of my favorite people all the time, the normal busy schedules of everyone really puts a cramp in my social life!

New Way of Eating 


As I mentioned yesterday, I signed up for Weight Watchers Online. I have been intermittently doing my own calorie counts on websites such as Myfitnesspal and Sparkpeople which are free (nice little perk!) but its apparently just not working for me. Something about those sites leads me to get bored very easily, very fast. Boredom is a good way to set yourself up for failure and I'm done with allowing myself to fail at becoming healthier.

As much as some like to see the different stats in front of them: Calories/Fats/Carbohydrates/ Protein/Fiber/Sugar/Sodium etc, etc. I think it is a little too overwhelming for me because I'm constantly trying to tweak the numbers. So, maybe one specific number- Points, will be a better fit. I know that the numbers shouldn't be the driving force. I want to stay within my target number of calories/points while eating good wholesome nourishing foods. Foods that will give me energy and make me feel better.

So today is a new day to start my plan!

Breakfast

1 whole grain wheat english muffin
2 eggs
1 piece of american cheese

Made into a delicious egg sandwich. I could eat these everyday for breakfast!

Enjoyed with pineapple.

Meal one down...time to conquer the day!

Life Afterwards

The chaos is over, and all things have returned to normal. The man has been spending his days working his buns off, while I've been working and making our house a home.

The summer is coming to a very fast end, the nights cooler and the days shorter. I am embracing the fall as a newly wed and hoping to get a few things crossed off my To Do List!

1. Go Apple Picking

Source

I have been wanting to go apple picking for the past 5 years with my husband before he was my husband. Every year goes by and it never fails that we don't go. For the past two years, we haven't had an excuse, we live right up the road from an apple farm!!! What?!? So, apple picking will happen this year. Baking apple pies, apple crisps, eating apples with peanut butter...those are the things I am looking forward to!

2. Go to a Haunted House

As with apple picking, I have asked to go to a haunted house before Halloween multiple times. I can not explain why we have not yet gone besides crazy different schedules between the two of us. I want to be scared to the point that I almost *ahem* myself. If there are any suggestions out there for the area of Connecticut, let me know!

3. Finish our Sunroom

We have finally changed our bare sunroom with no furniture into a work in progress! I am so excited about what the room is turning into. It will be, by far my favorite room. I love that there is natural light in that room all day long until nighttime.

4. Cook a new recipe at least once a week

As anyone that has been married knows, life gets a little crazy before a wedding, and sometimes it may take a little time to settle back into a routine. Our routine has taken some getting use to since the Mr. has just opened up a new Cheesecake Factory and he has been working nonstop since we got married. It has been mainly me by myself for the majority of the nights I'm not working, so my cooking has been lacking as of lately. I hope to get back into the swing of things and make some fabulous meals!

5. Bake, bake, and bake some more

Remember these, my mouth does!!!

Baking relaxes me, so with the stress of working in the Emergency Department and missing my husband, I think it will do me some good! Plus, who doesn't like to eat sweets once in a while?!?

6. Lose weight, get healthy

I have a habit of always wanting to be the healthiest I can be without putting in the effort. I say what I'm going to do, right down my game plan, follow it for a few days and then whoops, where did the plan go?  So on that note, I'm trying to be more accountable, I'm being open about my weight and body issues with my husband, and I've signed up for WeightWatchers Online. I want to be the person my future kids will look up to. I want to live a long life. I want to be happy.

Not too much to ask, right? I'm sure there are other things that I would add to that list, but for now that will do. I am looking forward to what the fall will bring!

Pizza & A Movie

Although we all love a bright sunny day, after the heat wave we've had the past week, nothing feels better than a lazy rainy day. Especially when it is spent with the one you love.

The original plan today was to hit up Shake Shack in Westport, CT with my favorite couples...

But, the weather was a little too dreary for us to sit outside and enjoy the feast. Yes, a rainy day once in a while is great, but I never said I wanted to sit outside in it!

Instead we broke out one of our wedding gifts, a pizza stone! The Mr. made a very simple cheese and pepperoni pizza. It was delicious! I don't know what element of the pizza making process made it so yummy! The chef, the oven, or the pizza stone? I'll keep my thoughts to myself.... a good pizza is a good pizza!

All it is missing is some veggies, huh? I'm trying to train him, it's a work in progress!

Now we are watching the movie The Lincoln Lawyer for the 2nd time, since the Mr. fell asleep last night. I'm hoping to get one of my romantic chick flicks in....something along the lines of The Last Song!

If I'm lucky, I see frozen yogurt in my near future! Hope everyone enjoys their day!

Much love,

A Very HOT Rehearsal Dinner

We had our rehearsal dinner on the Wednesday before the wedding. Typically, they have them the night before but for me, I envisioned the day before being full of happiness, relaxation and calm. That is not what happened, but thats for another post!!

When the day finally came, I couldn't believe it. Sixteen months had gone by and here I was two days before getting married, where did it come from? Back in January 2010 it seemed like it would take forever to get to our wedding day. It was a time frame I enjoyed because I felt I had a good amount of time to get everything accomplished. Then BAM, here it is!

In the morning, my mother and I went to go get my dress. It hadn't been finished the last time we went to  my "final fitting". The length was too long and it wasn't bustled right. I wasn't in the mood to try it on for a 5th time so I just hoped it was perfect. (I should of tried it on, but again, for another post!)

The rest of the day was spent doing errands and trying to remain relaxed. I got ready, gave myself plenty of time to feel comfortable with how I looked for the big rehearsal day, and off we went!

The rehearsal went well, but when it was done I had no idea what our officiant said to us. I didn't remember what I was suppose to do with my hands, when it was my cue to speak or what I was suppose to do after we kissed as husband and wife. It was just too HOT!

MOH Job: Blotting sweat from bride's face

Trying to pay attention, it just didn't work

After we were done "rehearsing" it was time to go to Carmen Anthony's for our dinner! It would only be  my luck though, that when we went to get into our car, we didn't have the keys. One of my bridesmaids had been given the bag with our keys in it! So after that mishap, we were on our way to spend time with family and friends before our big day!

 A few beautiful people in my family

 Our best friends & wedding party

 My Grandmother

 Mom, Dad, Sister & Andrea

 One of my favorite couples!

 Pretty girls

 Bridal Party

The bride & groom....

It was a beautiful night before an absolutely beautiful wedding! Can't wait to finally recap my favorite day!!!

Much love,

Bachelorette Festivities

If you know me, I would let you say that I may be a control freak who hates surprises. At the same time, I am also one who ruins her surprises due to my fabulous observational skills. I hate to admit it, but yes I am the girl who says "No surprises please" but gets sad when none happen. I annoy myself.

I had told my sister that the Mr. and I didn't need to have that last party separately as unmarried folk. We had been together long enough to have our fun and that we could just have a big get together with everyone. I was perfectly content with that decision. That is what I thought we were doing. I was mistaken.

As I've been told since my last final outing as an unmarried lady, I am a difficult being. One of my bridesmaids told my sister she felt like she was being interrogated by the police. What? I'm a nosy person who likes to know what's going on! It may or may not be one of my very few flaws!

So the plan was a very casual evening going to see the movie Bridesmaids with a few of my own! I was actually really pumped for this movie, and can't wait to see it since the night did not include a movie. While I was getting ready I decided to put on a skirt to feel like a girl, which is very unlike me and my typical casual attire. Maybe subconsciously I thought something was going to happen? No, I really didn't. 


One of my bridesmaids and best friend, Lauren picked me and told me that we had to stop at her sister's job to pick up something for her mother. I waited patiently in the car until she returned with a box covered in tin foil. She placed it into her trunk, laughed and then we were on our way. Hrm, think I was suspicious? Nope!

We were meeting at my sister's boyfriends brother's house, so when we pulled up and my sister was wearing a dress, one would have thought I would have figured out that maybe we weren't going to a movie. I still didn't. I laugh at myself for not seeing the obvious signs, but my mind was completely preoccupied and the girls did good! So as I was walking in the house, I saw my other bridesmaids and knew I had been tricked!

As I mentioned earlier, I hate surprises. So it took me a few minutes to feel comfortable in the situation. I was that awkward girl looking around, playing with my hair, taking deep breathes and trying not to feel self conscious that all eyes were on me. Eventually, the real Melissa came out!

We played some dirty bachelorette games that I should not mention on this blog, keeping it PG but it was fun! I received some scandalous gifts, all of which I love and find hilarious.

Then, in came the cake. Remember that box my friend put in her trunk? Well that was a cake made especially for me in the shape of a boy's nether region. They tried to make it as life like to my now husband, which at the time made me feel dirty. That's all I'm going to say because besides that we dominated the yummy cake!

Our night then took us to a local bar where we proceeded to play games, drink and have a great time. We ended up at another bar where we could get our dance on, and boy did we! It's been a long time since I've visited that scene, and I loved it! Shots, dancing, and laughing....pretty much sums up our night.

The men in our lives chilled together at the first bar we graced our presence with until we were ready. Then like our own personal chauffeurs, they came to our rescue when we were good and done (some more than others....like this girl!) to take us home.

The Mr., my other best Kayte and I found our way to Denny's, where we continued to order food and this girl passed out on the table. I'm such a champ. Since I didn't eat my food, I've been craving french toast for 3 weeks now!

But the next day, I was a rock star because I woke up bright eyed and ready to go. Until later.

It was a great night that I will always remember. My friends were able to surprise me and the Mr. was able to keep a secret as well. It's amazing how many people will buy you shots when they know you are getting married, makes you feel special. You may not know them, and they may not care later but a free shot is a free shot!

Much love,

Pre-Wedding BBQ

There has been many moments in my life where I wish I could turn back time to when we were a family. A complete family consisting of mom, dad, big sister and me. I am one to always try to live for the moment, no regrets, no looking back but when things happen in your life to alter that "perfect family", sometimes you may reminisce.

I've had moments where I've missed my father, been mad at my father and been disappointed. Through all these feelings, I've moved along trying to see the positive side to the situation such as I've always had this beautiful woman. Who has by far been my rock, my entire life.

The beautiful ladies in my life, mother & sister

That doesn't take away those feelings though. Especially when the most important day of your life is right around the corner and you want everything to be alright.

My family felt the same way as I did, so we decided to do a BBQ at our house to get everyone together to ease the awkwardness that we were ultimately trying to avoid for our big day!


It worked. Over a wide variety of foods and desserts, the family talked, laughed and broke through that ice we all thought needed to be thawed.

We enjoyed the usual BBQ feast consisting of hamburgers, hotdogs, salads, pulled pork, chicken...oh the list could go on. The food was tasty, the atmosphere warm and most importantly, the company was amazing.

We even got this beautiful lady to enjoy some shots with us!

We got to spend time with this adorable tot!

And we ended the night on a great note..... Reece's Peanut Butter Klondike Bars. Enough said! I wish I had taken more photos that day, but I guess I didn't. That's alright though because the next few posts with have lots!!


Much love,