Christmas Tree Lane

Marcos and I drove down Christmas Tree Lane this year with Thomas and Amy. It is SO fun to drive by lots of houses with TONS of lights and decorations! For those unfamiliar with Fresno's Christmas Tree Lane...

**It consists of 2 miles of 140 homes and 300 trees decorated with lights
**It has been around for 86 years, making it one of the longest-running holiday events nationwide
**It began in 1920 with the decoration of a single tree in memory of a child who died
**More than 100,000 people visit Christmas Tree Lane each year

Oh, Christmas Tree

Once upon a time (of 2 years ago) Marcos and I had our first Christmas together. We got a traditionally real Christmas tree, complete with shedding needles and woody tree smell. But then, when it was time to take it down, we noticed our beloved tree had left us a little gift of it's own--a large stain of dirty tree water on sopping wet carpet that no amount of scrubbing would remedy...

...Thus enters this year's fake Christmas tree! 4 1/2 feet of never-dying, never-leaking, pre-lit Christmas cheer that fits our little apartment perfectly.

Now we can live happily ever after with some shred of hope to get a bit of our rental deposit back, while still being festive.

Game Night

After the parade we went over to Dave & Amy Noalls (young married couple in our ward) and played Monopoly for about 3 hours. It was a new version where the money was all in hundreds of thousands and millions. (crazy inflation) It was really fun, except that the math with those large numbers gets pretty sticky! The game had modern places on the board (i.e. you can buy Disney World).

We put the scores in the picture. I have a sad face, because I went bankrupt when I landed on Times Square (aka Boardwalk) with a hotel and couldn't fork over the $20,000,000.00.
If you have ever played games with Marcos, you'll know 4 important facts:

1. He always wins.
2. He sometimes cheats.
3. He plays exactly by the rule book.
4. He argues 'till the death.

For those who have played games with Marcos, I'm sorry. :) You'll understand how it is the MOST fun you've ever had being annoyed during a game EVER.

Clovis Christmas Parade 2008

On Saturday we went to the Christmas parade in Old Town Clovis. I really enjoy this every year. We get all bundled up, sit in the freezing cold, have yummy hot chocolate and popcorn, and watch cars and trolleys of every kind decked out in lights pass by. There are a bunch of cool Corvettes, rock crawlers, and off-road vehicles that are favorites.

There aren't a lot of pictures of the parade cars, because it's hard to take pictures that look good in the dark. Also, we left early to play games with some friends. We still had lots of fun with family!

Turkey Bowl 2008

So continues the family tradition of Turkey Bowl on Thanksgiving morning. Jack & Heidi Shiner from our ward also joined the fun with cute little Evelyn. After flag football, we all went over to Suzanne Marshall's for yummy cinnamon rolls and juice. So much fun! Happy Thanksgiving!

You Know You are Poor When....

.......you accidentally pick up the name-brand yogurt at the store and you don't notice until later when you take a bite and you wonder why it tastes so good. What's this? Why does it taste like silk? Why is the consistency perfect? Why is it like velvet on my tongue? Oh--not the store brand--that explains it. Yoplait...you made my week.

Trans-Siberian Orchestra

Last Wednesday night Marcos and I went to the Trans-Siberian Orchestra concert. Have you seen it? It's AMAZING! I don't even know how to describe it...it's like nothing we've ever seen. The pictures and video clips don't do it justice at all. Their style takes getting use to at the beginning, but I VERY much enjoyed the concert, and Marcos and I are sure to go again!

WHAT I LIKED:

• INCREDIBLE light effects in sync with the music
• LOTS of fireworks, flame effects, and other such pyrotechnics. (Marcos' favorite!)
• The musicians had way more of the spotlight than the singers *refreshing*
• Very funny "duels" between 2 electric guitarists, and then 2 pianists (my favorite!)
• Exciting variety of rock versions: Christmas songs, classical songs, and even Charlie Brown.
• Cool (punny) fake snow dropped on audience during Christmas songs.
  
• Band very generous with audience contact: ran through aisles in the back, brought a random kid on stage and gave him one of their guitars, meet & greet with fans after show.

WHAT I LIKED LESS:

• 3 hour concert....long, but they keep you entertained! You sure get your money's worth.
• A lot of rockin' out with electric guitars. Good thing the insane light effects keep you visually stimulated...I think I could only watch them hand-bang for so long.
• If you don't know what to expect (like I didn't), the beginning is SENSORY OVERLOAD with all the C.R.A.Z.Y. lights and loud music. But you get used to it, and then you want more!

We sat in the cheap nosebleed section, but they turned out to be great seats. You'll see why in a second. In reality, you don't even notice the railing, but you sure can in pictures. *great*

See the huge machinery frames the lights come off of above the stage? These machines invert and rotate all sorts of crazy ways to make different designs above the band. As you can see, this pic looks way different than the previous. We called these machines the "transformers" because that's exactly what they look like when they move. SO COOL.

Remember what I said about excellent audience contact and how our seats weren't that bad? Half way through the show, performers come to the far back on a raised stage and are front & center for the people (like us) that got cheap seats far away. It's funny, because they're hooked to poles so they don't fall off. The girl (left) is playing an electric violin.



Right as we left, we realized we never took a picture of ourselves at the event, so here's our makeshift photo as we were leaving, trying to get the souvenir shop in the background. I highly recommend this concert. It is a treat for the eyes and ears!

Twilight Movie

Everyone has their own opinions on the Twilight movie. Overall, I really liked it, because I really like Twilight. I liked that the movie followed the book quite closely, and even had some direct lines from the book. I think this book is really hard to make an impressive movie, because so much of what I love about Twilight is hearing what goes on in Bella's head, and the movie only has her narrating a couple of times. What I also love about Twilight is all the different special abilities of the vampires, which is really difficult to show in a movie.

Marcos thought this movie was hilarious. But that was only because there were many parts in the movie that were so cheesy and/or awkward that it was really funny. And let's be honest, the acting left something to be desired. Regardless, I was still really happy and excited to see the movie! I mean, it's Twilight.....how could I not like it?

Tagged by Erin

I was tagged by Erin to give 7 random facts about myself. I included some pictures, too, because who doesn't love pictures of stuff? This was kinda hard, because I just did the eternal survey tag and told a whole bunch of stuff about myself. Let's see if I can come up with 7 more....

Factoid #1: I have never had a cavity. Hence the cheesy smile. I probably just jinxed myself...

Factoid #2: Dilbert is my absolute all-time favorite comic strip ever.

Factoid #3: In order for me to sleep at night, I must have 2 fans running in the room at all times. I just point them at the wall so I can have the noise. I'm quite possibly the lightest sleeper in the world.

Factoid #4: I pretty much have no sweet tooth. I don't crave sweets....but I DO crave salty things like chips and fries...mmmmm......I'll take chips over cookies any day. I know you think I'm crazy, but that just means there are more sweets in the world for you.

Factoid #5: I love to make spreadsheets. I designed our own for our finances, and if I can make a spreadsheet for something, I will. So watch out.

Factoid #6: I LOVE storage containers and compartments! Must be that compulsion to organize again. I will buy storage containers (not nice ones like these, the cheap plastic ones for now) and Marcos will laugh at me, because I don't even know what I want to put in them.

Factoid #7: I have some sort of obsession with mirrors. It's not that I'm vain, it's because I get claustrophobic and mirrors help small rooms to breathe. The bigger the mirror and chunkier the frame, the BETTER. This is a massive mirror I fell in love with while looking through model homes for fun.

I TAG:
Ashley S.
Katie K.
Jennifer W.
Sarah H.

Survey Tagged by Ashley

Favorite Person (outside of family)? That excludes my husband's family, too, right? That stinks, because I'm quite fond of my sisters-in-law. That's right, isn't it? Like Books of Mormon? I'd have to say my dear friend Katie Kinser formerly known as Hatch. You can't beat old friends. Plus, her girls are adorable!

Favorite Food? I'm a sucker for Chinese food. I also love pancakes for dinner.

Quirks about you? I play with my ears when I'm thinking about something. When I turn up the volume on anything, the only numbers it can stop on are EVEN numbers. I pronounce "romantic" as "romanic." I always have to have something to eat after dinner and before bed. Marcos calls this my nightly "2nd Dinner."

Any regrets in life? Not inviting my Dad to more of my track meets.

Favorite Charity/Cause? I'm with Ash--my tithing and fast offerings help people.

Favorite Blog recently? I really like Ashley's blog. I'm so happy we recently reconnected! Plus I think her blog is really nice and clean looking.

Something you can't get enough of? Time with my Marcos!!! And Pixar movies!

Worst Job you've ever had? I worked at a tanning salon for about 2 weeks. I had to spray and wipe down sweaty tanning beds after people used them. SO gross.

What job would you pay not to have? Anything dangerous, physically demanding or smelly.

Guilty Pleasure? I like to watch Super Nanny. I like the psychology. And I eat Baked Cheetos. I know, I know...it doesn't make it that much better that they're baked.

Got any confessions? My husband cooks waaaaaay better than I do. Must be in the Mexican blood.

If you had $1000 dollars to spend on yourself how would you spend it? I would buy a really sweet digital SLR camera.

Favorite thing about your house? House?! Obviously this survey was not designed for poor college students. One thing I like about my apartment, however, is all the closet space.

Least favorite thing about your house? That it is not a house!

One thing you are bad at? Directions.

One thing you are good at? Finding the good in situations.

If you could change one thing about your circumstances, what would it be? Not just to have a nice house...but to have it paid off too!

Who would you like to meet someday? I'm with Ash--there are way more dead people I'd like to meet than living....such as my ancestors.

What makes you feel sexy? Awkward........dude, my Mom could be reading this right now. Hi Mom! :) I'll change the word "sexy" to "pretty." When I get my hair done.

Who is your real life hero? My husband.

What is the hardest part of your job? Meeting my sales quotas at the bank.

When are you most relaxed? When the apartment is clean.

What can you not live without? My Wooby. That's the name of my pink baby blanket. It's falling apart, but comforting to me....chalk it up to classical conditioning.

Do you agree or disagree with the recent article that reported that blogs are authored by narcissists?
I disagree. I think blogs help to create, maintain, and validate identity and strengthen relationships by more frequent contact with one another. People feel good posting a portion of their thoughts and lives to share, and it's also a wonderful feeling to feel apart of other people's lives and read their posts. It's not because people love themselves, it's because people love relationships with other people.

Why do you blog? I blog to stay in touch with friends and family that I wouldn't otherwise have frequent contact with.

Who are you tagging? Katie K., Tiffany A., Ruth C., Kelly H., Sara D., Jennifer W., and Sarah H.

Tagged by Jennifer

I was tagged by my sis-in-law Jennifer to go to my 4th picture folder and upload the 4th picture. So here it is...

Our 4th pic folder is called "Databases." Marcos got bored one day and spent hours taking pictures of everything we own individually in case we ever need it for insurance purposes. All our books, movies, clothes, kitchen utensils, decor, you name it! It's a good idea, and such a Marcos thing to do! My parents got me this book when I graduated high school.

So now I TAG...Amy Duran, Katie, Heidi, Ashley, Erin, and Caralee. This tag is easy... so, let's see those pictures!

Happy Halloween!

So I totally got this from Erin's blog, but it was so hilarious I had to put it on my own, too.

Marcos' Results...

I made Marcos take the test too!:) This could be quite accurate, because Marcos is super competitive and playfully jokes allllll the time!

Take the Quiz and Share Your Results!

Melody's Results...

I think this could easily be true. I am kind of a girly girl, outgoing, and love to have fun!

Take the Quiz and Share Your Results!

The Twilight Kitty

My parents just got a brand-new kitten. As my Mom and Tracy are both avid Twilight fans, they naturally named her Bella. Hmmm...something tells me that name is going to become very popular!

I love when animals are all cute and tiny. Wish they'd stay that way!

The Freeze Out

What do you do when it's 40 degrees outside?

Answer: Go out for ICE CREAM!!

I was so excited to break out my Uggs!! Happy feet!!

We got vanilla with Reese's peanut butter cup mixed in. YUM!

"It's COLD!" But FUN! :)

The Tradition

Every General Conference Sunday growing up, my Mom always made German Pancakes with lemon and powdered sugar. The tradition lives on! Today we also made homemade fruit smoothies with no added sugar...just bananas, strawberries, blueberries, and apple juice. So yummy!

The Hermana

On the right is my dear friend since 2nd grade, Jenna Nelson. She's currently serving in the Argentina Cordobá mission. She's been out 10 months.

Jenna's current area, Rio Cuarto.

The Hanger

Marcos made a book holder out of a hanger. I love it, because that's SO something my Dad would think up! Way ingenious....and WAY ghetto!

The Blackout

Today the power went out at my branch. YEA! I got to go home at 4:30 instead of 6:30! We had to balance our cash drawers the caveman way. Pen and paper. Scary how reliant we are on computers! The pics are of our dark lobby and teller stations. Customers kept making jokes that WaMu couldn't even pay their electric bill, which was especially funny due to our company being bought out.

The Classes de Melody

Business & Professional Speaking
Rhetorical Theory
Freedom of Speech
Research Independent Study

The Classes de Marcos

Organic Chemistry II
Organic Chemistry Lab I
Biology 1B
Biology 1B Lab
Physics 2A
Physics 2A Lab
Research Lab Indep Study

The Physics Test

Congrats Marcos on getting an A++!!! His teacher had to add 5 points to each student's grade, because the average grade was a D.

The Grizzlies Game

Marcos and I went to a baseball game a few months ago. The fireworks were the most exciting part! This pic looks cool.

I'm a Blogger!

So, I am finally a blogger now....and all because I am procrastinating on my homework! This just goes to show that good things can come from putting off work. :)