Melissa Jenna

Introducing Miss Elliott Bean Godsey

Fri, 30 Jul 2010 23:12:07 -0700

Greetings from Sierra Vista hospital! I usually take my time with these, you know, proofreading/editing and stuff, but that’s not gonna be the case today. I’ve got a couple free minutes and I just want to spit it out already.

After laboring for 16 hours, our little one was set on entering the world face-first (brow first, technically), and as cute as that sounds, a position like that can paralyze a baby upon exit. So, I had to undergo a c-section, which was disappointing at the time, but believe me, I got over it. She’s pretty much the most precious thing I’ve ever seen/held/smelled in my whole life, and I fall more and more in love with her every time I look at her. I’d undergo a dozen more c-sections if I had to. I’ve turned into one of those mommies. You should smell her. Seriously. She smells like heaven. I’m overwhelmingly in love.

The procedure was relatively quick, although more painful than I had expected it to be. Once she was out they weighed her, cleaned her off and administered all of the standard tests. She was born at 7:00 PM exactly, and came in at 7 lbs 6 oz, and 20 inches long. Because of her brow-first positioning, her entire face was swollen. It was so bad she couldn’t even open her eyes. I was so sad for her! That poor little thing undergoing all that stress, only to get pulled out into the open and not be able to see anything. It must have been terrifying. After a few hours the swelling went down enough that one time she tried really hard and was able to see Mike out of her two tiny eyelids. It wasn’t until afternoon the next day that she could really open both of her eyes at the same time.

There’s lots more I’d love to share, and probably will eventually, but it’s almost feeding time (which has very quickly become my favorite thing to do during the day). Expect to hear more from us soon, and thank you everyone for your good luck and get well wishes. I feel overwhelmingly blessed to have so many positive and supportive people in my life. :)

love,

mj

Baby Update!

Wed, 14 Jul 2010 11:56:52 -0700

Happy summer greetings from Shell Beach, CA! As you may already know, our little girl is due on July 22nd, which gives us approximately 8 more days to watch as much of The West Wing as we can before we will have lost interest in the Bartlett administration entirely, in favor of gazing at the newest member of our family. (They say the first one tends to arrive late, but I’m not going to count on that.)

Outside of bingeing on The West Wing, I’ve completed several baby-related projects in recent days, and that feels great. (Sewed and put up new curtains in her room, washed and organized all of her clothes, and put together a couple of diaper-changing stations throughout the house.) And, in case we don’t get the chance to leave the house for food, I went to the grocery store and stocked up on food like we’re expecting another Y2K. (You guys remember that? We all went a little crazy I think.)

If I’m feeling truly motivated, I’ll post a YT video in the next couple of days as a countdown-to-birthday of sorts. Maybe I can get Mike to film for me so I don’t have to park myself in front of my MBP. Maybe we can even do an informal poll of our list of girls’ names?

I tend not to like generic update-posts, but this one seemed timely and relevant so I’m cutting myself a little slack. As always, I look forward to hearing whatcha have to say, so lemme hear it.

As always, hugs from across the internets,

mj

My Namesake

Fri, 9 Apr 2010 18:52:40 -0700

I don’t often write about myself specifically, not out here in public anyway. But sometimes I suppose I feel a bit vain, and that vanity is, on its best days, most tastefully expressed in writing.

It occurred to me not long ago that I’ve never written about the origin of my name, or the origin’s significance. It’s not a long story. In fact, it’s not much of a story at all. More like an incidental fact that you might only know if we happened to be on the subject. And because blogs are mostly a one-sided conversation, I’m making it the subject.

Back before I was born, when both of my parents were young, my father would play the acoustic guitar. (It makes me smile to think that my mother fell for the sensitive, guitar-playing type.) The way my mother tells it, my father used to listen to The Allman Brothers’ Band, and his favorite song to play was a song of theirs called simply, “Melissa.” If you’ve ever heard the song, you know it’s quite different from anything The Scorpions might play, and that’s amusing to me because The Scorpions is my mother’s favorite band to this very day. So, they chose Melissa as my name, and I was too young at the time to remember, but I’m told that he played that song for me every night before I was put to bed. I don’t have many images of my father so I’m particularly fond of that one.

If you’ve never heard the song, click HERE to take a listen courtesy of the fine folks over at last.fm.

So here’s where the one-sided conversation ends: what, if anything were you named after? What’s your name’s story? Would you change it if you could?

Thanks for temporarily indulging my vanity,

“Sweet” Melissa

The Supermarket Shortage

Mon, 29 Mar 2010 05:51:38 -0700

I had intended on sleeping in today, until 8:00 AM, at least. I hadn’t even set an alarm in the hope that I might sleep right through 8 and on into 9:00 AM territory. I was very much looking forward to waking up just whenever as the occasion to sleep without restriction does not present itself often.

But I woke up. And I woke up early. At 4:40 AM.

I spent a half of an hour browsing the app store on my iPhone before I realized that the reason that I woke up so terribly early was because I was hungry. Famished, really. So I got out of bed and fixed myself a ham sandwich (we were out of “normal” bread, so I used pita instead), a glass of iced, peach-flavored white tea and sliced up an apple. Then I turned on CNN’s early morning coverage and caught a story that brought to my attention a situation that I’ve never really considered: some folks in the US don’t have access to apples, or pita bread, or naturally sweetened white tea beverages. (I’m self-conscious to admit something that might seem so simple to others, so be nice in the comments, please.)

I don’t mean that I was unaware that there are families that are undernourished or starving, or that there are people who choose to eat fast-food every day. What I mean is that I didn’t realize that lots of people just don’t have a choice. They live in a place that I heard described as a “food desert,” a place where there is no access to unprocessed fruits and vegetables, or fresh meats and cheeses. They live in places where there are no grocery stores the way we know them, just fast food restaurants and those little corner convenience stores. Have you ever stopped at one of those gas-stations on a long trip and tried to find something that’s not laden with sodium or high fructose corn syrup? My go-to Star Mart order is a bottle of water and some unsalted almonds if I can find them. (And those almonds are always like $5.00!) I cannot imagine my grocery shopping being done at the Star-Mart.

When I think back on it, I’ve passed through neighborhoods like that, “food deserts,” but to be honest, I always felt too uncomfortable to stop and get out of the car. Even when my family was homeless, I had access to the free breakfast program through my school, and I remember eating apples and oranges and cheerios. I’m so sad to only now realize that so many people don’t have access to a good produce section of a good grocery store. On a superficial level, I get a bit of joy browsing the produce section of my local Vons, looking for sales on seasonal goods. Asparagus was only .78 cents per pound last week! And strawberries were 4 pints for $3.00! And they were delicious.

I understand that the nutrition disparity is even wider in many places of the world, and that we’re lucky even have access to fast-food, but that doesn’t make the situation okay. The thing that upsets me is that I’ve been keenly aware of world starvation levels for what seems like my entire life, and that I’ve taken part in measures to aid those people who are suffering from lack of food and clean water. But I’ve never ever even considered the situation of people without access to real food.

When faced with new information like this I tend to swing into “what can we do?” mode. The easy answer is that we need grocery stores to move back into the neighborhoods they abandoned so long ago, but that solution has its own problems. Real food is very expensive when compared to hamburgers and french fries. Who can afford sliced deli meats when a happy meal is only $2.19? If given the choice, who’s to say folks wouldn’t keep choosing a McFlurry over cheap strawberries? And if someone has never bought asparagus, how will they know how to prepare it?

As usual, I don’t have any real answers. But I do have an interest in learning more about the research that has been done, and the organizations that exist to begin to solve this problem. Maybe the “urban gleaning” crowd can drive some of that fresh produce to a food desert and leave it on someone’s doorstep?

Thats all for now. It’s now 6:30 AM...maybe I can fall back asleep for an hour?

xoxoxo,
mj

Wedding Plans

Sat, 30 Jan 2010 19:41:45 -0800

Greetings, from the magical land of Wedding Plans, where everything costs a fortune and the guest list just keeps getting longer. For those of you that don’t already know-- and haven’t figured it out-- I’m engaged to be married. I have been for quite awhile, actually, but only now have I found a spare moment to, you know, make it official by talking about it on my blog. (The common belief is that, “if it isn’t on the internet, it doesn’t exist.”)

I’m sure I sound a smidge cynical already, and I want you to know that I’m mostly kidding. True, weddings are expensive, but Michael and I are very blessed to be surrounded by talented and supportive friends that are generously lending their talents and expertise to our matrimonial endeavor. I’ll fill you in on who’s pitching in what once we’ve dotted our “i”s and crossed our “t”s.

In other news, Michael and I are officially living in our new house in Shell Beach, and let me tell you: life is good. I grew up in what used to be a slowish beach town-- San Clemente, if you’re familiar-- so this move to Shell Beach feels like a sweet, warm throwback to my childhood. Except back then all I ever wore was my bathing suit, and I don’t remember wearing shoes that often. I guess some things have changed.

I took a walk to the park near our house a couple of evenings ago, and it was gorgeous. That’s where the photo up top came from. It was the cutest thing-- while I was at the park I saw this tiny pug chasing around this massive orange-marmalade-colored cat. The cat could have easily taken the pug, but I guess it’s just the cat’s nature to flee.

If I were a truly responsible adult, I’d start unpacking...but I think I’m gonna put a movie in instead. Fireproof, if you’ve heard of it. Thanks for checking in, and I’ll have more interesting wedding details soon. Until then...

xoxoxo,
mj

Take a Break. (Hey, I’m talking to YOU.)

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 12:19:54 -0800

I find it truly horrifying how quickly time passes when one is perpetually “busy.” Those of you that know me well know that my favorite thing to do is go somewhere beautiful and consciously absorb all of that loveliness. Whether I’m hiking Zion or just sitting on a bench overlooking Moonstone Beach, basking in nature’s majesty is my favorite way to “refill my cup.” I’ll go so far as to say that I need it; that time is precious, it’s the time when I feel most at peace and it’s the time when I can hear God speaking to me the clearest. Which, to go back to my first point, is why I hate that time passes so quickly. I don’t seem to get enough of that precious quiet time, and I place the blame almost entirely on myself.

I’m aware that I need “quiet time” almost as much as I need sleep (deprivation of either makes me a little crazy), and I’m also aware of how perpetual business is a burden most of us wear like a badge of honor, yet I still forget to plan my days intentionally and set aside time for myself. My to-do list becomes a fascist dictator, telling me exactly where I need to be and when, even what I can and cannot eat that day. I begin to feel oppressed by the very things I love doing so much, and that’s crazy!

So, every few weeks I find myself back here, realizing that I’ve gotten lazy and handed control of my life back over to my to-do list, and I begin the process of reclaiming my time all over again. Is it healthy? Not quite, but I feel good about the fact that I catch myself before I go truly nuts and have some tragic late-20’s mental breakdown and start dressing like Lindsay Lohan. (Notice that I can also have a sense of humor about the whole thing.)

Why am I saying this? Because I know I’m not the only one. I’m talking to you, friends of mine who are recently married, friends of mine who have children, and friends of mine that are so successful that they’re literally driving themselves crazy. TAKE A BREAK. Do whatever it is you need to do to get back to center. We all need a reminder every once in awhile.

Love,  
Melissa

You'll Love this Sandwich Recipe!

Fri, 9 Oct 2009 22:08:27 -0700

Hello again,

I know that I ask a lot of you folks out there, so here I am to give a little back. What I’ve got to offer you is the best darned grilled cheese recipe you’ve ever tried. Here’s the deal, though: it’s pretty fancy for a grilled cheese sandwich. The ingredients cost me about $25, and only produced four sandwiches, but boy were they memorable. We’re talking basil. Fresh mozzarella. Havarti. It’s delicious, and best of all it’s super-easy. Here are the deets:

Ingredients (makes 2 sandwiches):

Butter (2 tbsp)
4 slices havarti cheese
4 slices fresh mozzarella (I suggest the rolled-up one because it’s easy to slice into 4 large pieces)
4 slices capicola (or prosciutto if you prefer a saltier meat)
8 large fresh basil leaves
4 (1/3” thick) slices heirloom tomato (about 1 large tomoato)
2 tbsp olive oil
4 slices tasty bread-- I used potato bread
Salt and red pepper flakes to taste (optional)

Instructions:

Preheat your oven-- that’s right, your oven-- to 400 degrees.

Lightly butter 1 side of each bread slice. Place 2 bread slices, buttered side down (you read that right) on your work surface. Top each slice with: 2 slices capicola, then 4 basil leaves, then 2 slices havarti, then 2 slices mozzarella. (Yes, the order of operations is important.) Sprinkle with a little salt and red pepper. Top with two remaining bread slices, buttered side up.

Heat olive oil in a large ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Add sandwiches to skillet and cook until golden brown on the bottom, about 4 minutes. Turn the sandwiches over; transfer the skillet to the oven and bake the samdwiches until they’re golden and the cheese melts, about 5 minutes.

Remove the sandwiches from the oven. Carefully lift off top bread slices from sandwiches and insert 2 tomato slices into each. Cover again with bread tops, cut diagonally (makes it taste better) and serve.

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Try this recipe and tell me you don’t love it. I dare you. Additionally, please let me know if/how you’ve improved on it. I love a good fancy grilled cheese sandwich, and I’m always down for improvement!

Let me know how it goes!

Cheers, mj

Name My Bike

Wed, 7 Oct 2009 21:50:16 -0700

Dear internets,

Once again I come to you to ask for your input. Pictured above is my gorgeous new Electra Amsterdam bicycle, and as of right now she remains unnamed (I have decided that she’s a female). She was given to me as a birthday gift way back on September 1st, and yet she’s still nameless! This is where you guys come in.

I’m asking for your suggestions. Things to keep in mind:
1. She’s orange
2. Her brand is Electra and her model is Amsterdam
3. My car’s name is Fifi La Fiesta (just so you have an idea where I tend to go with these things)
4. She will soon be equipped with baskets on either side of the back tire

Kindly leave your suggestions at the bottom of this post, in a twitter reply, facebook message, email or whatever. Do let me know how to get in touch with you in the event that I pick your suggestion.

Thanks in advance for your help!

Cheers,

mj

Mission to Disneyland Video is UP!

Mon, 28 Sep 2009 18:13:41 -0700

Just a quick heads up that I’ve posted a video of me and my brother’s trip to Disneyland a couple of Sundays back. Click HERE to watch it on the YouTubes.

Cheers,

mj

Me and My Brother: Mission to Disneyland

Sat, 19 Sep 2009 12:31:10 -0700

This month is “Adventure Month” in the Ford FiestaMovement, and I’ve scored an awesome assignment. Me and a friend are supposed to go to a theme park and ride as many rides as possible. Well, that’s rad, but it also sounds super easy, so I’ve taken liberty to jazz it up a bit.

This time tomorrow me and my brother should be taking Disneyland by storm, racing against the clock to complete everything on our “Mission List.” Basically, we’re making a list of rides we need to ride, foods we need to eat, photos we need to take, and stuff we need to buy, and we’re going to try to do it all as quickly as humanly possible. Think of it as a massive Disneyland scavenger hunt. I think I might even make us matching tee-shirts. We’ll video the whole thing, and I should have it done and uploaded on Monday night.

Shoot me an email if you’ll happen to be at Disneyland on Sunday-- I’d love to have some guest appearances in my video!

Cheers,

mj