A good snow day

Well we've had some good snow coming down the past two days. Wednesday's record of 17 inches in 24 hours was short lived when Thursday loaded us with 19 inches. Wednesday night we were going to go caroling, but I decided to cancel after it took me an hour to drive 2 miles. I decided to leave work at 3:30 to avoid rush hour. I guess everyone had the same idea. I was driving DJ's subara (Bo) and had no problems starting, stopping, or braking. But a lot of people couldn't make it up the hill on Division and were blocking all three lanes of traffic. Once I finally got to them I was able to manever around them and finally got home. I stayed in for the rest of the night.

DJ came home from Ellensburg (where he is roofing a new stake center) Thursday morning. They had to help 3 stuck cars on their way up Division taking him home. We decided we needed to go out and get some snow shovels and try to find the rest of our winter gear in storage. DJ bought me some snow boarding boots and a pair of really nice gloves and he had an extra set of snow pants, so we both geared up and headed out. It took half an hour to dig Bo out. We park in our yard until we get out driveway poured, so when he backed out, he didn't "clear the driveway", he just plowed out. It was so cool. This was a day we wished we had a crew videotaping our life because we had a lot of cool moments. Our friend stopped by on his snowmobile. There were a lot out yesterday.

One of our duties while we were out was to shovel the driveway of a family DJ home teaches. They are a bit older and both have had health problems recently. The snow was up to my mid thighs by the time we started. Here are the before and after pictures. The garbage can gives you a good idea of how much snow we had so far.

This is my car buried under all that snow. It will probably stay like that till all this snow melts.



This is our sweet little home. Our tree looks so cool right now. DJ and I are going to take a walk later today and get some more good shots.

When we got home from shoveling we noticed all our neighbors we outside digging each other out and pushing the crazy drivers who tried to come down our street. It was awesome. We met all of our neighbors as we served each other. The lady who lives right across from us had been out since 6am digging out her neighbors. She was able to tell us some strange stories about our house. She was happy to find out we bought it and that we're planning on fixing it up. It was the "bad" house in the neighborhood.

After dinner we decided to venture out and look and Christmas lights. The Spokesman Review online has a list of "must see" homes. We only made it to two because of all the people stuck. While on the South hill we pulled a mazda out with Bo. Once we got downtown we went to Safeway to get some treats for DJ's work party today, but they were closed. We noticed this woman with a bicycle starting to leave. I knew she had a long ways to go and she wasn't going to get there with how deep the snow is, so we asked if she needed a ride. She lives in Medical Lake but was stranded in town because the buses stopped running. So we drove her to a couple of shelters, (Salvation Army was closed! I couldn't believe they were closed). After we got her to a safe place we saw another car stuck trying to get out of a parking lot. So Bo went to the rescue. The snow plows pile up the snow in the middle of Division, making it a two lane road, but we needed to cross Division to get to this car so DJ sped up and we plowed through the pile. We hit hard on the other side, but I think the point to be made is we made it! So we got them pushed back into the parking lot and saw two more cars stuck. One had stopped to helped a cute old man and now they both were stuck. So with the help of a 4X4 truck we were able to pull the two cars out (I'm pretty sure he cracked one of them though). The guy in the truck was not good in the snow. He's one of those people that thought because he had a 4X4 he was invincible. Well he wasn't and he got stuck. So we pulled him out with Bo. HAHA! It was so great. Had to help one more person as we came up Division but then we were home! We almost felt guilty knowing that there we many more stuck because they didn't realize that their car couldn't make it. But we were tired. It was around 11pm. We had rented Enchanted but both of us feel asleep before Amy Adams met James Marsden. After DJ's work party today, we're looking forward to doing it all over again.

I used to be a sceptic, but now I completely believe in the abilities of Bo.

Score!

I'm watching Twilight with Stacey in Pullman Tuesday night!

Bummer

I was supposed to watch Twilight last night with two of my sisters and our friend Brittany. I was so stoked. I was going to drive down to Pullman, see all my favorite Theatre people, and have a good time. Well....the driver bringing the film decided he could make it till this morning, so there was no employee preview for me to go down to. I haven't read the Twilight books because I hate reading the book first, it always ruins the movie. Oh well, I guess I'll wait till Thanksgiving to see it.

So right after Stacey calls to tell me its a no go DJ calls me because he's off work. He lets me know they're staying to work part of Friday and won't be home till Friday night. He was supposed to come home tonight and we were going to buy a new TV tomorrow. The only good thing about him not coming home till Friday is that it may mean that next Wednesday will be there last day on the job and he will be home everyday. I guess I can give up a Friday if it means he is done next week, I just wish I didn't have to.

Other then that life is actually going very well.

Well...

I don't want to brag, but I guess my endorsement is very powerful. OK so I'm totally joking but HECK YEA!! I've been pretty emotional tonight. I was so proud that at 8 pm when the polls officially closed in Washington, Barack Hussein Obama was announced the 44th President of the United States of America. I cried tears of joy to have been a participator and a supporter in the most important Presidential election our country has ever experienced. I am so excited to see how the world reacts tomorrow. I was deeply moved by Senator McCain's speech tonight, and saddened that such a great man was never rewarded the highest political office. I hope he knows how important he has been to our country. I have said this over and over again, had it been anyone but Mr. Obama, he would have been priviledged to have received my vote. I believe that many feel the same as I do. Here's to a brighter tomorrow.

Out of neccesity....

This post is for my family. I think they think I'm going to hell for some of my opinions, especially when it comes to this election. I'm not the traditional voter. I despise both parties because I believe they ignore the regular American. I believe I'm pretty close to being a regular American. I'm middle class, married, I think that everyone deserves the right to education, food, shelter, jobs, and to not be judged by physical characteristics (i.e. race, stature, disability, etc.) I believe in an America where anyone can be successful as long as they work for it. I believe that people should be held accountable for their actions, including corporations since the supreme court gave them the same rights as people. I believe in defining marriage, but I also don't think that it is ok to deny insurance and visitation rights to a couple who decides to have a homosexual, committed relationship. I also don't believe that adults who choose a polygamist lifestyle should be treated as criminals, outcasts, and felons.

I voted for Bush in 2000 and in 2004. I could not see how Mr. Gore or Mr. Kerry would be able to lead this country. In 2000 as I watched the primaries I wished that John McCain had won. I would have voted for John McCain in 2000.

I have been watching Barack Obama for over 4 years now. I first heard of him because he was the keynote speaker at the 2004 Democrat Convention. He is a great speaker and at the time I thought, its too bad he's a Democrat.

As I watched him over the past 4 years, I have been impressed with his ability to gain the respect he has from Republicans and Democrats. People like Warren Buffet and recently Colin Powell (who we all wanted to run for President in 1996) have come to the same opinion I have. Mr. Obama doesn't expect us all to agree with him. He believes that in America, we have differing opinions, that we should engage in vigorous debate, that we should have different points of view, and that through our differences we can find the answers that help us all. He wants to unify America, to make us safe, and to reclaim the title as the greatest nation in the world.

Mr. McCain used to be like that. He would go against his party to fight for his causes. He would reach out to us and try to find out what we need. BUT, that is not the John McCain running for President in 2008. John McCain has changed. He has hired a campaign staff that is inadequate, he has chosen a VP because he knew she would energize that same portion of the Republican base that would not consider a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints as a candidate. John McCain and Sarah Palin have spent the last few weeks dividing America. That is not what I want in the next four years. I don't want red states respected above blue states. I don't want an America divided even more. We can't afford it.

I work with extremely poor people. I see how someone who has gotten an education, who works hard, who tries to feed their family, struggles everyday because their employer refuses to give them health insurance and they do not qualify for state insurance. I see adults who have grown up poor so they just expect that they will always be poor. They can't see how they can escape it. I see children who don't have warm enough clothes, who may be getting most of their meals at school, and whose early childhood education is threaten because the money the state gives their child care center is less then it costs that child care center to care for them. I have seen people with disabilities, in wheel chairs with mental retardation forced to live on their own with less then $900 a month. Out of the $900 has to come rent, food, utilities, clothes. How many of us can live off of $900 a month? I then see these same people forced to move because the company in charge of their affordable apartment was swindling money from HUD vouchers. Many of these people were placed in shelters because there are not enough $300 or less one bedroom apartments with wheel chair access.

I have studied our federal budget. I have seen how 2/3 of the national budget is fixed. Most of that goes to social security pay outs, which are very important. But almost a 1/3 of our federal budget goes to countries like China in the form of interest only payments. How many of you would take an interest only loan out from a bank. How long would it take to pay back an interest only loan? You don't pay back interest only loans. Why are we borrowing money from China in the first place? Why can't our federal government live within its means? Why do we spend less on our own people then we do on interest only payments? Guess what, that $700 billion spent on bailing out wallstreet didn't come from your tax money, it came from loans our government took out from other countries.

Our government is messing our country up. A lot of that is the fault of that past 8 years, but not all of it. Until the Republican party can show me that they are willing to return to the party ideals of fiscal responsibility, caring about those less fortunate, and trying to unite us rather then divide us, I will be voting Democrat for a while. What John McCain has shown me is that he will not be a huge difference between the past 8 years. I find his "spread the wealth around" argument so humorous. "Socialism" he calls it. Hmmm, I believe that his plan to buy up failing mortgages and renegotiate the terms of the loan a redstribution of wealth. Allowing people who can't afford the home they live in to pay less then the value of that home so they can stay in it. Oh well, I digress. Don't we pay our fast offerings so that those struggling to pay for food and shelter have a chance to make it through hard times? Don't we donate to charities to help a cause we believe in. Don't we all agree that a lower middle class family never gets a break because they make too much to qualify for government assistance but too little to really get to make something of themselves? Are we really that stingy that those of us making higher incomes do not want to give these families a break? Don't we want everyone to have affordable health care? Don't we want all of our Grandma's and Grandpa's to be taken care of when they can no longer work? Don't we want birth control to be free? Don't we want to (and this is a quote from Barack Obama), "... try to prevent unintended pregnancies by providing appropriate education to our youth, communicating that sexuality is sacred and that they should not be engaged in cavalier activity, and providing options for adoption, and helping single mothers if they want to choose to keep the baby."

Of course don't get me wrong, I never vote solely by party, so there will be some Rebulicans, Libertarians, and Independents getting my vote. And if either of Washington State's Senators were up for re-election I would vote against them (not a fan of either). At a state level my vote is leaning towards Dino Rossi, because I see that Washington State is in need of a change in leadership.

But you heard it here family, I endorse Barack Hussein Obama for President of the United States of America. (Let's remember that I'm the only member of the family who regulary reviews the constitution).

Why I love Spokane....

So, I've decided to start a new series where I talk about why I love Spokane. I realized that this is the town where I fell in love with my husband, where we bought our first house, where I will raise my children, and where I will probably live for the rest of my life. So, I decided that I need to fall in love with Spokane. Every week or so I'm going to write about something I've found about Spokane that I think is so cool.

Riverfront Park is a place I almost always went when I would visit Spokane with friends.Here is a night when I went up to visit Brittany with Jennie Johnson. We decided to dress up goofy and walk around, guess? Ok you're right we went to Riverfront Park.

Here is Shane and I on a trip to Spokane. Good times.

This is where we host Walk With Me for Easter Seals. We use the pavilion in the background and offer free parking in that parking lot. Through Walk With Me I have gotten to meet some wonderful people around town. Riverfront Park is the perfect location for our walk.


This is the famous Clock Tower. Isn't that a beautiful sight? My work is very close to the park so I get to drive by it quite a bit. I love how calm the river looks and the contrast as the trees have begun to change colors. I got to walk through the park today as I have begun to map out the walk path for next year's Walk With Me. I wasn't completely satisfied with the route we took this year.
I wanted to add this picture because of the trickle of water. I'll make sure to compare this picture with a spring picture. The river goes from this peaceful stream to a raging river when the snow melts. Its really cool.

So one thing that is helping me fall in love with Spokane is Riverfront Park. It is beautiful and a place I look forward to making many more memories.

Pink hair and Chicago

First of all, I took this picture last night of DJ. He is such a handsome guy. Also, check out the colors of the sky and on the taller building. We had a good sunset last night.

DJ asked that I put pink in my hair so I went to Moses Lake and my friend Brittany did it. It turned out really well and I've gotten a ton of compliments. I was a little worried about how people at church would react, but when I told them I did it for my husband they were like, oh that's really cool. It also upped my cool factor with my Young Women so I think it was worth it. Plus it is a lot of fun.

This is the view from my hotel in Chicago. I stayed at the Crowne Metro. It was a quick trip, but totally worth it. I learned so much to help with my job and was finally able to meet my co-workers that I've only had an email relationship with.

This is one of the doormen at the hotel. I was leaving for good. Everyone was so nice. I was shocked at how friendly Chicago is. I would really like to go back for a longer visit with DJ. It would be cool to take the train over.

I took a water taxi to get a quick view of downtown. This is one of the bridges facing Sears Tower.

This is another Taxi, but it looks exactly like the one I was on.

Going to Chicago!!

I just found out from work that I am going to Chicago for three days in October. I'm stoked. I would really appreciate any advice on places I should visit while I'm there. I will have down time. Thanks!!

We have a winner!

Thank you to everyone who gave me wonderful comments so I could draw the best floor plan to make our tiny house wonderful. Take a lot! The first picture is the floor plan and the second picture is a 3D version of the plan. Please let me know if you see a spot that I might find troublesome.

I'm so Excited!!

First of all I wanted to post this picture of our house. You can see DJ and my brother in law Jeff filling in an unwanted basement window with cement. I don't know who thought that a window that filled up with water because it was surrounded by a cement walk way was a good good idea, but we took care of it. For those of you who have been following the house plans, we have picked a winner. I'm actually drawing in where the garage and walk ways will be, so stay posted.

As you can tell, the size of this home is very small. We will be adding another 600 square feet onto the back of the property and a detached oversized one car garage and carport. I can't wait!

Ok on to the next reason for my post. Can I express how excited I am for this election year! No I cannot. While I was disheartened when Mitt Romney dropped out of the race, I have been invigorated by the race between Obama and McCain. Obama just delivered a wonderful speech about unity, education, finding common ground, health care, and taking responsibility to make the American dream a reality in each of our lives. I can't wait to see what McCain has to throw back at him tomorrow. Neither can I wait for the announcement of his VP pick. You know, I love a good election year.

And my third reason for posting. Stacey tagged me so I need to respond. Let's see how this goes.

The Rules:
•Link the person(s) who tagged you.
•Mention the rules on your blog.
•Tell about 6 unspectacular quirks of yours.
•Tag 6 fellow bloggers by linking them.
•Leave a comment on each of the tagged blogger’s blogs letting them know they’ve been tagged.

6 Unspectacular Quirks in no particular order.

• Refer to the second reason why I posted.
  
• Like Stacey, I also hold the Redford gene that makes me prone to tears. For example. DJ and I are new to our ward here in Spokane. One of the first people to talk to me was a cute lady in a wheel chair. She complimented the sarong I was wearing for a skirt and welcomed me to the ward. I knew this lady lived in an assisted living center and because she told me a little about it. Lo and behold, two weeks later it was announced in church that she had passes. I literally bawled for the rest of Sacrament meeting. Luckily I had DJ to hide me, but seriously, I knew her for two weeks and had talked to her for 15 minutes. The following Sunday they talked about her memorial service and I cried again.
• I had no desire to change my name after I got married. I let DJ know that, he didn't like that, so we came to a compromise. My name is now Melissa Renae Redford Berezay. I technically have two last names according to the Social Security office. While at church and in my personal life I will use Berezay, I will continue to use Redford at work. Why? do you ask. I don't want to change my work email. I have spent 9 months building relationships will people all over Spokane to donate to Easter Seals and I do not want my emails getting blocked by junk mail servers because these servers do not recognize mberezay. DJ will get his way of myself becoming a fully converted Berezay when I quit my job I guess.
• Washingtonpost.com is my homepage. I have to know what the news is every time I get on the internet. You may be wondering why I chose Washington Post out of all the news websites out there. There are two reasons for this. 1. They have the best Sudoku and word puzzles. 2. Because it is based in Washington DC political news is their top priority. Also, world news receives a lot of coverage for the same reason.
• I have to beat Sudoku and Mega Sudoku every day. On Mondays I have to make up for the ones I missed on Saturday and Sunday. Man I feel good when I beat a 5 star mega Sudoku.
• I am a Canadian. Honestly I don't know how I feel about this. A part of me is so excited to be connected to my family that way, the other part of me feels like a hypocrite for all the times I've made fun of Canada and Canadians. Because my parents are natural born Canadians I am recognized as a citizen by their government. I've decided to get proof. It will make crossing the border a little easier I think.

I'm tired so I'll take care of the tagging tomorrow.

Ok one more time.

I've made some changes to the last plan. I've added a small bay to the dining room. It can't be a true bay because there is a window in the basement right about there. I've changed up the master bedroom . What do you think?

One more plan

I took the comments that had been made, merged them with what I liked about both house plans, and came up with this one. Be honest, do you like it better then the first two. Thanks for your help because once the cement is poured there's no going back.

House Plans

I've come up with two options for the remodel of our upstairs. Both are very different and I'm having trouble deciding which I would like better. I need help. Please vote on which one you like best.

House Plan 1
House Plan 2Thank You!!

New Adventure!

I was called to be my ward's YW President yesterday. I've known for a couple of weeks but it really hit home when I was sustained and set apart. I have a couple of girls who come to church, but our ward has a lot of inactive members, meaning I have a lot of girls not coming. I just found out we have a about 8 girls who are investigators or from part member families that are interested in coming to church so I am stoked about that. If you have any experiences helping reactivate families or a great YW activity that you've done, please let me know!!! I have two great counselors who I know are excited to work so don't be afraid to offer a suggestion that may be time consuming. Thanks!

I'm all alone...

For four days a week I am all alone. DJ has started working for a commercial roofing company and they have a contract to redo the roof of a prison in Shelton, WA (that's by Seattle). He leaves on Sunday with his brother and my brother in law Jeff. They come back Thursday night. I have a lot to do, so I won't be bored, but I'm already missing him and its just been one day. They'll be doing this job for five months, so if you're going to be in Spokane I'm up for any Monday and Tuesday nights.

Ok so before you get to see the wedding pictures I have to thank my brother Sean and my brother in law Jeff for coming and help us figure out the basement. You see, DJ and I are living in a shack. Right now we're finishing the basement. Then we're going to move downstairs. Then we're going to gut our upstairs, add 600+ square feet, and finish the upstairs. This is what we finished tonight.This is the bedroom we framed in.

OK now you can see wedding pics. Enjoy!!I'm pretty happy with how they turned out. I also highly recommend my photographer so if you need one let me know and I'll pass on her number.

Coming Soon....

I just got a phone call from our photographer and our pictures are done!! She said there are four discs of pictures so prepare, soon I am going to post a ton.

Great Tip!

I don't have kids yet, and I'm not planning to for a couple years still, but because of my job and my future goals I'm always interested in learning parenting tips. I found this on MSN.com. I encourage everyone to read it. It just has some great advice to raise happy children. Enjoy!

http://lifestyle.msn.com/familyandparenting/raisingkids/articleab.aspx?cp-documentid=8150607&GT1=32001

Walk With Me

I wanted to post about the event I have been planning for the past few months called Walk With Me. For those of you who don't know, I've been working for Easter Seals Washington since November 2007. That is the reason why I chose Eastern for my graduate program. My title is Philanthropy Assistant. That means I work with Paul and Tim (they are in our Seattle office) and we raise money for our programs. I write grants and I also plan events with them. The Walk was my first major event. It was pouring outside, but 75 participants showed up to walk for people with disabilities. We raised about $10,000, which is awesome. Here are some photos from the day.

This is my friend Molly from graduate school. Molly and Brittany came to help make sure no one got hit by the cars. They did a great job! No accidents!

Here is my sister Michele. She stayed under the umbrella. My dad is pushing her. She used a wheelchair because walking a mile is too much for her.

Here is Logan and Paul. Logan has started a magazine for youth with disabilities. Check it out at www.loganmagazine.com. If you know someone who could use it get them signed up, its great. Paul was an Ambassador for the walk. He has also spoken to the United States Senate advocating for people with disabilities.

You can see my mom in this picture walking through downtown.

I have to give a special thanks to DJ. He helped me plan this event and he was the perfect volunteer. He woke up with me at 6am to start hanging up signs. He forgave me when I got mad at him for losing my scissors. He gave me a big hug when it was over and let me sleep for 14 hours. He forgave me when I woke up at 4am and woke him up to look at things I found online. He is a great guy.

The Receptions are finished!!

After a month of wedding we are finally finished!! I have to admit I had a ton of fun planning my dream wedding and receptions with DJ and my mom, but with school and work, I'm ready for a break from planning. I can't complain though, both receptions were awesome! We called our receptions "Garden Dinner Parties" because we just wanted to plan a party and have fun.

In Moses Lake we had Shish-ka-bobs, rice salads, homemade rolls, watermelon, grapes, and the delicious Strawberry Cream Puffs made by Brother Anderson. Drex Palmer and Scott Carver were our amazing BBQers. Theresa ordered her husband a chef's hat and apron for the occasion.

The party lasted from 6 to 8:30 in Perrins backyard. It was a gorgeous Saturday, warm and sunny. I also got to see a lot of my favorite people I don't get to see enough. Tiffany and Cassidy were able to stop by, even if it was just for a moment. I love going home to Moses Lake.

Spokane's Reception was truly a miracle. The weather forecast was high of 92, thunderstorms in the evening. What does that mean, an extremely hot and humid day that ends with an extreme rainstorm, and that's exactly what happened. We held our reception at Plantes Ferry Park in Spokane Valley. We started setting up at 8am. It was extremely hot, but cloudy all day. As the time for the reception neared, we had a couple of raindrops, but nothing major. At 5:45, 15 minutes before our guests were to arrive the wind picked up and the rain drops became more frequent. Well, I always had faith that my Heavenly Father cared enough about my garden dinner party that he wouldn't let nature ruin it. So DJ and I said a quick prayer to stay the weather till we were done at the park. He did. And of course, it was more perfect then I could have expected. The clouds were perfect. The kept out the sun so our family pictures turned out perfectly. The few drops of rain cooled the temperature so DJ could wear his tux without being too hot. The weather was perfect and the food was amazing. We had hamburgers, sausages, hot dogs, pasta salads, watermelon, and strawberry sauce on bunt cake.

This is one of our shots, DJ is so handsome.

I'll post more shots when I get them, the photographer is making them all pretty. You can check out some of her stuff at http://www.flickr.com/photos/chelseakrieger/.

I'm so sorry I'm such a slacker when it comes to posting. But I'll explain the past month so you can understand why.

Most importantly DJ and I got married!! May 9th was the big day. It went perfectly thanks to my parents, DJ parents, Brittany, Kelly, Stacey, Kim, and our family members showing up on time. Our close family friends Mervyn and Brenda came down with their daughter Stephanie. And even though none of my high school friends were able to come, two of their moms came to support. Brenda Goodrich and Susan Byington came over just for the wedding. We got married at 3pm. Afterwards we went across the parking lot to a family dinner prepared by DJ's mom Linda and his Aunts.

This is a picture of everyone who was at the Temple.

This is my hot husband DJ.

This photo is DJ and I coming out of the Temple.

We went to Sandpoint for four days after the wedding. It was so beautiful and our room was perfect. We stayed at a Bed and Breakfast called The Waterford. We highly recommend it. Here are a couple of photos from the honeymoon.
I've also been kept very busy by graduate school. I'm finishing up my last paper for the spring quarter. I'm going to take the summer of to focus on the next thing keeping us so busy, our very ghetto house.

I'm not kidding, here's some more pics!