Make-Over Monday

I've decided to start something new on my blog. Every Monday, I'm going to have "Make-Over Monday"! I want to focus on some of my favorite products, probably one each Monday. You're more than welcome to recommend products or suggest ones for me to write about, or join in on your blog! I haven't decided exactly what my vision for this new "event" is, so we'll have to have fun together as it evolves.

I've noticed lately how many make-up and beauty products I have, and now that I'm a Certified Beauty Advisor and Avon rep, I thought it would be fun to do this. After all, what could be better to write about than something I have a ton of and a ton of knowledge about?!?!

I thought I'd let you take a glimpse into my beauty stash...and maybe get an idea of some of the products I'll be talking about!

See all the Avon products on the bottom shelf? Those my favorites and they get used every day!

And some of my hair care products

I have an entire dresser drawer of all kinds of make-up!

And now my first featured product!!!

This is one of the most recent products I've added to my collection. Cosmetologists recommend that you replace your mascara every three months. That is about how long mine lasts anyway. I had just finished my other tube, and I decided to try something new. It's Avon's newest mascara...Spectra Lash. It's really neat! It has a dial and you can choose 1, 2, or 3. 1 is full, 2 is fuller, and 3 is fullest! It's really handy how I can customize my own look!

To purchase featured AVON products, please go here.

Fight FOCA

We got a flier about this in our mailbox at church today, and I wanted to share it with you because I feel it is important!!

FIGHT FOCA
The Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA) endangers women and silences the voices of everyday Americans.

President Barack Obama has promised Planned Parenthood that one of his top priorities as President will be to sign the "Freedom of Choice Act" (FOCA) into law.

FOCA would eliminate every restriction on abortion nationwide.

*FOCA will do away with state laws on parental involvement, on partial-birth abortion, and on all other protections.
*FOCA will compel taxpayer funding of abortions.
*FOCA will force faith-based hospitals and healthcare facilites to perform abortions.

Barack Obama believes this legislation will "end the culture wars". Tho him, "ending the culture wars" means eradicating every state and federal law on abortion-laws the majority of Americans support.

You can help stop FOCA. Visit www.FightFOCA.com and join the 692,651 (that was me!!) people who have signed the online Fight FOCA petition so far.

SEM

Since September, I have been going to SEM with Mike. SEM is Special Education Ministries, and we do it at Mike's church every Thursday night. Mike has been doing SEM for 5 years, and because I am at his house on Thursday nights, he invited me to come with him. Basically, we go and spend an hour with a special needs student. We start out with a group prayer time, then the leaders do a Bible story, we break off into one-on-one time with our student, and then come back for a time of praise and worship. When I first started, I would go with Mike and his student Brian. In January, one of the tutors moved away, and I was asked if I would do my own student, I agreed, so I have been working with Alice since then. It's a blast watching everyone each week. Some weeks we have special events, like square dancing, puppet shows, carnivals, or sing alongs. A few weeks ago, a group from another church came in and sang some Christian parodies of other songs. It was really fun! It really has been a blessing to be a part of SEM and I really encourage you to find out if there is a ministry like this in your area, and if there is, to find out how you can help them!

A Sweet Award

Jennifer over at Zaankali's Adventures gave me this "sweet" blog award. Thank you Jen! The rules of this award are to choose 5-10 blogs that show kindness and sweetness in their entries.

I would like to pass this award on to:

Julie at Memories

Mari at Mari's Little Corner

Tori at The Story of Tori

Heather at Heather's Ramblings

Diane at My Journey's Path

Cheri at Just Another Day In Paradise

Brenda at Adventures of the Yonker Family

I really enjoy reading all your blogs and always look forward to your sweet stories.

One year ago today...

A year ago today, I got an email that read something like, "if your cool with it i think we can start telling pple that we are going out :)" To which I quickly responded, "yeah, i'm cool with it...it's about time! lol" And that was the beginning of "Mike and Melissa". I can't believe it's been a year already! Sometimes it feels like we've known each other for a lot longer than 14 months (we were friends 2 months before we started dating), because we know so much about each other and we're such good friends. That's one thing I love most about Mike, that we're friends first. So I thought I would share some pictures of us over the past year.



Our very first picture together

Hagar Park this summer

On top of the world!!! Silver Lake Sand Dunes

Christmas Day

Our most recent picture...At Dani and Josh's wedding last weekend

So Mike...thank you for such an amazing year with you! You are such an incredible guy and I love you so much! I can't wait to see what the next year brings us!

Josh and Dani's Wedding!!!

On Saturday, two of my good friends, Dani and Josh, got married. They had a beautiful wedding! It was really fun for me, because I was Dani's Maid of Honor, so I got to be involved in a lot of the wedding planning and wedding day activities. It was also fun for Mike and I because Josh and Dani are the first of our friends to get married.

Mike was sneaky and took this picture of the bridal party when we were lined up to walk into the sanctuary.

Dani and Josh saying their vows.

The beautiful bride and I

Making it legal...Josh signing the marriage license

My incredibly handsome man and I

100 things

Well, it's been a while since I've posted...mostly because I don't have much to post about lately. I'm on Spring Break until next Monday, so hopefully I will have more to post about, like fun things I do this week. I will definitely be posting about my friend Dani's wedding on Saturday!!!
I saw this 100 things survey on Tori's site, so I thought that I would do it as well, some of the questions are kinda wierd, but that's what happens when it's from Facebook!
100 Things
1. Last beverage→ water
2. Last phone call→ my boss
3. Last text message→ Kaylyn
4. Last song you listened to→ 1, 2, 3, 4
5. Last time you cried→ I don't remember

SIX HAVE YOU EVER:
1. Dated someone twice? nope
2. Been cheated on? nope
3. Kissed someone and regretted it? nope
4. Lost someone special? yes
5. Been depressed? nope
6. Been drunk and threw up? nope

LIST FOUR FAVORITE COLORS:
1. blue
2. green
3. teal
4. silver
HAVE YOU:
1. Made new friends → of course :)
2. Fallen out of love → nope
3. Laughed until you cried → all the time!!
4. Met someone who changed you → yes
5. Found out whom your true friends were → yes
6. Found out someone was talking about you→ yeah
7. Kissed anyone on your friend's list→ yeah
8. How many people on your friends list do you know in real life?: all of them
9. How many kids do you want to have→ 2 or 3
10. Do you have any pets → a dog, Tucker
11. Ever been on an airplane?: yeah...a lot of times actually
12. What did you do for your last birthday→ went to church and then time with Mike and my family
13. What time did you wake up today → 8:54
14. What were you doing at midnight last night → sleeping
15. Name something you CANNOT wait for → warm weather and sunshine!!
17. What is one thing you wish you could change about your life → nothing really
18. What are you listening to right now → the television
19. Have you ever talked to a person named Tom → yep
20. Have you ever driven a car? u yeah....every day
21. Have you ever gone to Starbucks?: yes
22. Would you rather read or watch t.v.?: it depends on what's on and who I am with
23. What's getting on your nerves right now?→ nothing
24. Most visited webpage → hotmail, facebook, myavon
1. What's your name→ Melissa Jane Maynard
2. Nicknames→ Melissa, Peaches
3. Relationship Status → in an amazing relationship
4. Zodiac sign: capricorn
5. Male or female→female
6. Elementary → Allendale Elementary
7. Middle School → Allendale Middle
8. High school→ Allendale High
9. Eye color: blue
10. Hair color → blonde
11. Long or short hair: shoulder length
12. Height?: 5 feet 7 inches
13. Shoe size?: 9
14. Favorite fruit?: any fruit is my favorite
15. Summer or winter?: SUMMER
16. Favorite vacation?: Cedar Point
17. Do you have a crush on someone?: can I have a crush on Mike? :P
18. What don't you like about yourself? → nothing really
19. Piercings → 5
20. Tattoos → 0
21. Righty or lefty → Righty
FIRSTS
22. First surgery → never
23. First piercing → ears...when I turned 12
24. First best friends: Joy
25. First house location: Mescalero, NM
26. First sport you joined → soccer
27. First pet→ dog
28. First vacation → I think Canada
29. First concert → Jackie Valesquez
30. First sleepover: probably with Joy
31. First Job: babysitting
RIGHT NOW:
49. Eating → nothing, but dreaming about the chocolate cake I'll eat in a few minutes
50. Drinking → water
51. Wearing → blue jeans. green long-sleeved shirt
52. I'm about to: go make a 5 minute mug cake
53. Listening to → the television
55. Waiting for → tomorrow
56. Thinking → about cake (do you see the pattern here?? lol!)
YOUR FUTURE
57. Want to live → in Michigan
58. Want kids → definitely
59. Want to get married → YES!!!
60. Careers in mind → receptionist, massage therapist, bed and breakfast owner, hotel manager
WHICH IS BETTER WITH THE OPPOSITE SEX?
68. Lips or eyes → eyes
69. Hugs or kisses → both, it depends on the moment
70. Shorter or taller → taller
71. Older or Younger → older
72. Romantic or spontaneous → both
73. Good body or good personality→ both, but I think personality is more important
74. Sensitive or loud → sensitive
75. Hook-up or relationship → relationship
76. Humorous or serious → Both...has to know what's appropriate for the moment
77. Trouble maker or hesitant→ also both :)
HAVE YOU EVER :
78. Kissed a stranger → uhhh no
79. Drank hard liquor → nope
80. Lost glasses/contacts → yes
81. Went on a date → yes :)
82. Broken someone's heart → i hope not
83. Had your own heartbroken → nope
84. Wanted someone you know you can't have → nope
85. Been arrested → nope
86. Turned someone down → yes
87. Cried when someone died → yes
88. Liked a friend that is the same sex? → uh. no.
DO YOU BELIEVE IN:
89. Yourself → usually
90. Miracles → YES
91. Love at first sight → that's a tricky one...yes and no
92. Heaven → YES
93. Santa Clause → no
94. God → YES
95. Kiss on the first date? → nope
96. Angels → yes
ANSWER TRUTHFULLY:
98. Had more than one boyfriend/girlfriend at one time? nope
99. Done something you regret? no regrets. just life lessons :)
100. Posting this as 100 Truths? i guess so

Whew! That was long...and probably a bit boring...and a little juvenile...and I have no clue what's up with the funky numbering.
If anyone has any suggestions for posts or things you want my opinion on...let me know! (Then at least you'll hear from me! lol)

Help me out please!

For my English class, I have to give an instructional speech. It needs to be 3-6 minutes long, and basically I need to give instructions (verbally and using a visual aid) about a topic of my choice (excluding recipes, which of course would have been my first choice). Now here's where I have the problem...I don't know what to do! So I'm hoping someone will have a good idea for me!! Please leave a comment with your ideas...even if they are different or you don't think they're good...I need anything please! :)

Valentine's Day

This is a fun little Valentine's Day survey I found on Mari's blog. I know Valentine's Day isn't until Saturday, but you all know my schedule so I figured I would do this while I have a few spare minutes. So here's mine and if you want to do this, have fun!
♥ How long have you been together? 11 months tomorrow
♥ How long did you know each other before you started dating? 2 months
♥ Who asked who out? Mike asked me out
♥ How old are each of you? We're both 20, he's older by 1 month and 2 days
♥ Whose siblings do/ did you see the most? His sister
♥ Do you have any children together? No
♥ What about pets? No
♥ Did you go to the same school? The same college
♥ Are you from the same home town? No, we live about 25 minutes away from each other
♥ Who is the smartest? We both are smart about different things, I have book smarts, while Mike has street smarts
♥ Who is the most sensitive? I think I am
♥ Where do you eat out most as a couple? Probably McDonalds! It's the cheapest and easiest to grab lunch after class
♥ Where is the furthest you two have traveled together as a couple? Kentucky
♥ Who has the worst temper? I think we are both about the same
♥ Who does the cooking? I do, but Mike likes to help me in the kitchen
♥ Who is more social? Definitely Mike
♥Who is the neat freak? Neither of us are neat freaks
♥ Who is the more stubborn? Mike
♥ Where was your first date? Before we were technically dating, he took me out for lunch at Adobe. After we started dating...I think we went to Logan's or something. We didn't really go on a big "first date", I think I went to his house to do homework, and that was our first real hangout "date"
♥ Who has the bigger family? We both have 4 people in our family
♥ Do you get flowers often? He bought me daisies when we had been dating for 5 months
♥ How do you spend the holidays? We divide it up between our families
♥ How long did it take to get serious? Probably about 6 months
♥ Who eats more? Mike
♥ Who’s better with the computer? We are both good with the computer
♥ Who drives when you are together? It depends on where we're going, we usually take turns

Busy Busy Busy

I apologize for neglecting my blog lately...I haven't had much time to update it, and there hasn't been anything "newsworthy" to update about.

Basically, my life for the past month has been: School, homework, sleep, repeat (with work thrown in there a couple days). Crazy, I tell ya!

I am taking 5 courses this semester, 15 credits I believe. When I finish these courses at the end of April, I will have completed my two year Associate's of Business Administration.

On Monday nights, I am taking Computer Applications 2. It is not so difficult as it is frustrating. It's frustrating because the teacher feels the need to explain every little detail to you (thus wasting valuable work time, considering that what she is explaining is already written out in front of us). Second, the work load is insane. It is a 4 credit class, meaning 4 hours long. Starting at 5:45 and going until 10. During that time period, we are expected to complete 3 lessons, each consisting of between 1 and 4 drills and 5-7 actual activities. No errors are allowed (incredibly frustrating, especially considering the program we use exits constantly after we check our work, making us re-enter to fix our lesson). The class is not very difficult, but when I'm taking 4 other classes, the workload is a bit extreme. (Sorry for the little rant there!!!)

On Tuesdays and Thursdays, I am taking Personal Defense and English. I love my personal defense class. I have heard that I have the hardest professor for that, and I believe it. He pushes us to the limit, but he knows how far each of us can go, and pushes us to do our best. Each class begins with drills, ranging from running (and shuffling and karaoke), to crunches, to push ups, to pull ups. On Thursdays we do "bikini workouts", so we really work our abs! After our warm up drills, we actually move into the defense moves. We have learned the correct stances, how to grab and steer someone, pressure points, and we are just starting on 1-2 punches and kicks. This is definitely my favorite class this semester!! After my morning workout, I head to English. This is by far my most boring class. ;) English has always come easy for me, and I find the teaching style of my professor to be very lacking. She drones on for most of the hour as we fill out worksheets, and then we do in-class assignments for the rest of the time.

On Wednesday nights, I have Business Ethics. I really enjoy this class...my professor works for a large company and he has loads of real-life stories and ethical dilemmas to share with us. The class is a lot of discussion, my professor tells us about ethical cases in the news (like the peanut butter scare going on now) and we discuss how the company got to where they are and what they should do. I think I am learning a lot in this class.

Finally, I am also taking an online course, Starting A Business. This is especially nice, because I can work on it as I have time, all the assignments are due on Sunday, so I have a week to do all the assignments.

Monday, Wednesday, and Friday might seem like I shouldn't be so busy, but believe me...I am! The homework from all my classes takes up so much time now! Even when Mike and I get together, we spend the majority of our time working on homework. (It helps that we are taking Computers and Starting A Business together). I can't wait for this semester to be over and to be done with my degree! In the meantime, bear with me as I don't post as often as usual!