Monthly Archives: January 2012

Not in a Million Years

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Dear Mrs. Longoria-Robinson,

(AKA my old 97 Pontiac.) It’s time to say goodbye. While I love you and all things cheap, it was time to make a change. You see, yesterday I found a new car. I had been saving for TWO YEARS for this new car. This car has windows that roll down AND up. It also doesn’t leak inside when it rains.

I will always remember you and the wonderful times we had together, like the time you dropped siding in my driveway. Or the first time you turned the passenger seat into Lake Pontchartrain. But there is a new car on the block. She is pretty and so far nameless.

Welcome new car, with your satellite radio and Onstar capabilities. Welcome Bluetooth and engine that hums so quietly. Welcome. I never thought I would buy you, not in a million years. But you were such a good price and I thought about it for a long time. Not all change is bad.

Sincerely,

Melissa

Gringas at Gringos

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Eons ago when I was in high school, I had this group of friends who I loved (and still do!) We would sit outside at the picnic tables everyday at lunch and do the dorkiest things. I will never forget Mallory calling the Lean Cuisine hotline to ask them why the sauce in a frozen was a weird color. They sent me coupons. We spent Friday nights eating Swedish Fish and watching movies. Or sometimes we would make movies…about hunting gators. I’m not going to say we were normal but we sure did have tons of fun!

Now…we’re grownups. With jobs and kids. Or in my case three dogs and a job. We live in different cities too so we don’t get to see each other very much, at least not all of us. So the other day when Julie came into town, we had a reunion of sorts at Gringo’s restaurant. I had never been there, but it was good.

This is almost the whole gang, plus significant others and one kiddo. Fact, I’m wearing that same blue shirt right now. It’s my favorite.

This is what I ate. They called them their “Mexican Hot Pockets.” Fact: Betty on Ugly Betty ate these on her first day at work.

Fact: Empenadas, like most Mexican food, is both really delicious and really bad for you at the same time.

This is Julie and Rory just chilling at the restaurant. She kept him entertained for quite some time. Julie’s got a way with kids and is also a mother herself.

And this is Mallory, mother of the cute baby. And master planner of most of the events that happened in high school.

This was us just before we all said goodbye! I hadn’t seen Julie in like a year! And Kathleen (far right) in like two years! Ladies, we’ve got to get a grip on this. After this we all went our own separate ways. Well, okay I rode with Mallory (second left) and her hubs, but you know.

It’s a Dog’s World

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I can’t remember how many years it’s been now, but sometime when I was in high school we got a Border Collie named Maddie. She was so cute! Unfortunately she was a lot of trouble. She used to climb our fence and run to the street to herd cars. We ended up having to put her on a run line. Unfortunately our cross dressing Irish neighbor thought that she needed to be able to run free. He would let her off a open all of our gates in the middle of the night. Finally, we had enough. Thankfully we have some friends who have a very large property and a dog they happened to not want. Their dog bit people and since their dogs ran wild, it wasn’t the best situation. So we traded dogs. Maddie loved running there.

They gave us their dog, Skippy. She solved the issue of the neighbor opening all of the gates and she didn’t need to be on a run. I wish I could have been there when she bit him. Thankfully, she only bites adult strangers. She loves kids and people she knows. Skippy also has an attitude, but that’s okay by me.

She’s really hard to get a picture of. All she wants is for me to rub her belly. Skippy is approximately 14 years old, but we can’t be sure because she was a stray when she showed up at our friends’ house.

The next dog that we got was Ruthie. We got her for Josh from the local humane society. He had been begging for a puppy for a while. She is now two, going on three. Ruthie is the only dog that we have who we got as a puppy. She’s also our biggest dog at 60 pounds. I’m not going to lie, Ruthie is my favorite. She just wants to sit next to you and lick your face. And by the way she loooooooooooooooves everyone. She thinks you’r the greatest thing since steak.

This picture describes her perfectly. I had told her to stay while I went to go get something inside and here she is. We’re not sure exactly what kind of dog she is, but she has some lab in there.

The last dog is mine. Well, technically Skippy and Scout are mine. Scout is a young Australian somethingoranother. I was looking for a dog because I was intending to move out, but only causally. (Skippy has some health issues and I don’t have deep pockets, so I thought it would be best to leave her with my parents.)  I ran into him at the mall. The SPCA was there and he was on discount because he had been there too long. I’m not sure why because he is so sweet. He is also stinking cute and loves playing fetch.

Scout is quite mischievous, but we’re working on it. The vet says he’s two, but I don’t believe it. When he runs he so looks like a puppy. Scout and Ruthie play together quite frequently so if I ever move out I’m hoping to rob Ruthie too.

So there you have, the tail of three wagging tails. If you ever come by my house be prepared to be greeted by three really cute dogs.

Sincerely,

Melissa

A Few of My Favorites

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To be honest, lately I’ve been feeling pretty down. I quit doing the things I normally love doing. That’s never a good sign, so this morning I forced myself to quit watching How I Met Your Mother and get out of the house. I decided to go to one of my favorite, favorite places: the beach. It was very quiet, which gave me plenty of time to collect my thoughts.

Right when I got to the beach I noticed that there was a boat either coming in or going out. I really enjoy watching the boats from the jetties,but I knew there was no way I could make it from the entrance to the jetties in time. For some reason I gave it a try anyways.

This was all I could see after getting a little bit closer. Why is there construction equipment on the boat? I kept getting closer and closer until I finally saw what they were doing.

They were dumping new granite onto the jetties. This was great news for me because it meant the ship wasn’t moving and I could take all of the pictures I wanted! The following picture is my favorite from the day.

The picture may not be as beautiful as I think it is, but I love the coloring, the ropes, and the tires contrasting with the water. Just looking back at these photos makes me happy. Is that weird? Ok, don’t answer that. Just so you’ll think I’m normal, let me include two normal beach pictures.

I love the roughness of the barnacles and the smoothness of the water. And get ready for the last picture, it’s not a traditional Melissa photo.

It’s almost magazine perfect. I’m lovin’ it!
Well, I hope you had as good of a Saturday as I did. The beach was followed up by a talent show at my little brothers’ school and then frozen yogurt with friends. Sometimes all it takes is getting out of your pjs.

Sincerely,

Melissa

Which Way?

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I’m sitting in a chair in a dark room. The doctor asks me again A or B? Which is better A or B? I want to yell “I have no clue! Aren’t you the doctor? Isn’t there a better way to do this?”

You see, I’m not good at decisions. I feel like I could live on the corner of This Way and That Way for the rest of my life. Part of it is definitely from being a middle child. The other part? Fear of the unknown.

If I go This Way, then will I have a good job? Will I meet my “soul mate?” Will I have cute, responsible kids? What about That Way? What if I’m single for forever? What if I go broke? Where will I live?

Living on the corner of This Way and That Way probably isn’t  a good decision. It’s just like in the Dr. Suess book Oh The Places You Will Go, the young person is warned to not get stuck in the waiting area. The book lists the many things people could be waiting for. What am I waiting for? Why I am sitting in life’s waiting room?

This year, I’m going to make some bold moves. I’m going to be different. And I can already see it. Twenty Twelve is my year to get off of the street corner and take action.

Sincerely,

Melissa