So Tomorrow's the Big day...

{taken at roy's station while doing work and drinking a delicious cup of coffee}

After securing two years of grad school under my belt, I'm moving one step closer to my life as a therapist. Tomorrow, I get my own official office and client case load (insert dry-heaving noises here). I'm not sure whether to cry or be happy, I haven't decided yet, but whatever the feeling, it's pretty scary. Hopefully i'll get over my fears and put the knowledge that I've paid thousands of dollars for to use.

I will definitely miss my abundant free time, but knowing me, I always find ways to play =)

So here's to helping the world become a better place one patient at a time!

Wish me luck,

Melissa

weekend wrap up

This weekend was a nice and quiet.  Friday consisted of my yoga class and running around town trying not to lose my mind while doing the usual errands.  Then on Saturday, Kjersti and I attended the school picnic and brought our dogs along for the ride.  It was a lot of fun, but the heat was killer!( Man, I sound like such a wimpy Texan spoiled by the Bay area) I felt like my face was seriously melting off as I baked in the heat.  Luckily, we all cooled off by treating ourselves to yummy frozen yogurt in the comfort of good old air-conditioning.  Sunday was definitely bittersweet for me, as my Houston Rockets ended their awesome play-off run this season ( no worries, because this means that I get to look forward to an even better season next year!).  In between all this, I managed to do a good amount of cooking and baking (which I will post later on this week), and even some homework to my surprise! Anyways, no one probably even wants to read this stuff, but since it's my online journal, then what the heck, just post it right? 

{friday night tandoori indian dinner}

{Kjersti and I at the picnic (sorry the lighting is horrible)}

{burger and garbanzo doing what they do best}

{our sunday brunch tradition}

How was your weekend? Hope you had a great one!

Letters to my mother

{ above my dad, mom, aunt circa 1979}

followed by my sister, mom, and I

Dearest Mom,

Tomorrow is Mother's Day and I wish more than anything in the world to be able to see you and tell you just how much I love, admire, and appreciate you.  You are the best mother I could have ever asked for.  During your short time here, you lived your life with such beauty and grace.  You touched so many people without the want or need for recognition or accolades, and never asked for anything in return.  You thrived off knowing that the ones you helped were better off in some way because of you.  I am so blessed to have had a mom like you.  

It's been almost two years now since I last saw you, and so much has happened since then.  I have to admit that life was so hard when we first lost you.  I woke up everyday feeling empty, angry, and lost, and nothing could fill the hole in my heart or mend the pain I was experiencing.  You would be kinda disappointed and maybe even amused when I tell you that I tried to drown my sadness with retail. (Sorry mom!).  I bought everything from a limited edition Kitchen Aid Mixer to 50 pairs of shoes and MORE.  You were right, things don't make people happy. I learned that the hard way, but nonetheless, the euphoria was temporary and I've learned my lesson (kinda).  But not to worry, I've done some really productive things too... I went to grad school, made great friends, took a cake decorating class, went to therapy, traveled, improved my cooking skills, took care of Dad, and took control of my life.  Next month will mark the end of my second year of Graduate School, and by next June, I will have my Masters in Counseling Psychology/Marriage and Family therapy!  Time sure flies.  

Mandi is doing well too.  She is finishing up her clinical laboratory science program and is planning to go on to become a Physician's Assistant.  We take care of each other and are closer than ever.   To your dismay, we are both each other's shopping partners, and always over spend, but take heart that we always think of you before each purchase and decide if it is something you would like or not :)  

Derek and I are still going strong.  He is almost done with his Law/MBA program at Santa Clara, and just got an awesome job opportunity at Oracle.  You would be so proud of him, and I am too :) Despite trying to annoy each other to death, he is my best friend and takes good care of me.  We support each other in everything we do, and are learning to work out all our little relationship kinks here and there.  No plans of getting married yet,  we are just taking life one day at a time and enjoying being young. 

Dad and Lucy are doing well too.  Lucy is a little feisty ball of joy.  She is so smart and doesn't take any nonsense.  Dad... wait for it... has quite a few "fans" as you use to call it! Who knew he could be such a hot commodity? You were right mom, men always need someone to take care of them, so I know you're not surprised, and probably even happy to hear that we don't have to worry about him too much. He's actually a lot more independent than he used to be, and I know you'd be proud of him for that. 

 I cannot tell you how much I miss you.  All the special days and holidays during the year are so much harder without you, but I know that even though you can't be here with me now, your memory is always close to my heart.  

Thank you for being my mom.  Everything I do, I promise to always make you proud. I love you. 

Always,

Missy

Not enough time in the day

I think we should all petition for a 3- day weekend.  Two days are simply not enough to catch up with all the stuff you've been putting off all week long.  Why is it that during the work week, the days seem five times as long, then right when the weekend hits, the Earth decides to spin twice as fast? It just doesn't seem right.  Back to my petition... a three day weekend (at least), because first you need Saturday to sleep in, and recover from Friday night's festivities or a long work/school week, then Sunday can be used for all the fun you've been missing, come Monday you can start preparing for the rest of the week. Hmm... I'm going to have to speak to Mr. Obama about this special request. He's my homie, so I hope he'll be okay with it :) 

So because there is no such thing as an extended weekend, I was rather pleased with myself for being quite the busy bee.  Completed my homework, did some yoga, made a mean brunch, shopped for groceries, worked out, spent time with D and the dogs. The perfect semi-relaxing (because of the homework factor) weekend that was very much needed indeed. 

Here's to a great week to come!

Cheers,

Missy

Sunday morning brunch of champions:

French toast, eggs, and chicken sausage

Burger keeping me company while I study

Starting off the morning with...

Burger and Derby

Yoga

Breakfast and blogging

So much to do today... Hopefully the rest of my day is as productive as my morning.  Gotta keep my head outta la la land!

have a good one =)

<3,mel

I heart brunch

I cannot tell you how much I love brunch.  In my ideal dream world I would wake up, put on a pretty dress and ride my bike to the nearest cafe with my dogs in tow for a mean eggs benedict with french toast.  Brunch would be followed by some people watching, shopping with girlfriends, then picking up a few groceries for dinner at the local farmers market, and ending the day with a nice glass of wine snuggling in front of the t.v. .  Too bad that in my real life, I am constantly in a mad rush to choke down a peanut butter and honey bagel and scoop up a Starbucks latte on my way to school.  I guess i'll save my dream world for the weekends.  

The picture above is my attempt to create brunch for myself for a mid-week "pick-me-up".  It is toasted brioche with garlic mustard aioli, topped with turkey bacon, a fried egg, and a sprinkle of fresh basil.  The cherry tomatoes are topped with balsamic vinegar glaze and fresh basil.  

My sister is coming to visit me this weekend, so I have an excuse to indulge!