The Start of Something New

I wanted to get in a post before the year's end. Hopefully everyone will have a wonderful celebration on this night!!
Don't have much too say at the present, only to say that my new year's resolution for this year to be to be more positive! Something we could probably all use to do. Anyway, Happy New Year and i'll be back in 2009.

Stream of Consciousness

First, I must say that today is my brother's birthday so I must say Happy Birthday to Nick!! It's the first year in two years that we've not been able to spend the day celebrating. Last year at this point, we were living in Chicago. Nick wanted to go to a bar in Andersonville to have mulled wine, which was really nice. I especially loved that they gave you a few small cookies with the wine. Nothings better than cookies and warm wine. After the wine, we went home and had some nice cake. I used to have photos of that but since those were on my previous computer they may possibly be gone. So that is my tribute to my bro.
Nothing too much has been happening. Amir and I did go to see the movie "Milk", which is about the first openly gay elected official. He was elected in San Francisco in the Castro/Haight districts. I highly recommend that everyone go see this movie. Sean Penn did an amazing job portraying Harvey Milk, as i've heard that even people who knew Harvey said the resemblance was amazing. It was such an interesting time that this movie came out because of the whole Proposition 8 issue. What is sad to me is that what homosexuals were facing the same issues that they are now 30 years ago and not a whole lot has changed. Sure, maybe things are a little bit more open and accepted now, but we still have a long way to go as we found out in California. I was so inspired after seeing this movie that it made me really want to do something for the world. I'm still not really sure what that this is yet, but for now, when I go to work I feel like i'm doing a little part. Every time somebody gets onto my massage table I feel like i'm taking them out of their lives for an hour. We all need to do something like this for ourselves whether it be through massage, yoga, meditation or whatever it may be. The US is such a go go go country that we really need to stop at some point during the day to think about ourselves.
I've just recently started subscribing to Mother Earth News magazine, which I love. It's focus is on natural living and just trying to get back to where we came from which is the earth. I've been trying little by little to use more natural products and start being more green. The sad part is that it is a bit more expensive so i'm doing as much as I can for the time being, and if i've got extra money I will definetly get the all natural detergent than the chemical based one. If we all try just a little bit, things will really start to change for the better. As we are just a small fragment of this HUGE universe we need to do what we can to make what we have great!

Never Too Late

It might be a little bit after the fact, but I hope that everyone had a Happy Thanksgiving! Mine was really nice. The only that could have made it better was if my brother would have been able to make it, but he's a working man now for corporate America. Needless to say he was working(without holiday pay..thanks WalMart). Our Thanksgiving started the night before when my mom and dad came to my work to get massages by me. They were long overdue so I was glad that they were able to make it in.
After I got off of work we all drove to the apartment. Upon walking into the place was greeting us a nice aroma from Amir already having started the cooking. Mom gave him a helping hand while I talked to dad so that I wouldn't be in the way in the kitchen. Family time never happens enough these days.
Thanksgiving day we all woke up pretty early to get everything up and running. There was so much food to have that I wasn't even able try all of everything first go round, which is a pretty good feeling actually. All in all it was a great day! Anyday where you can get together with your family and have some Food, Friendship and Fun (as me and the old high school friends used to say) is a great time!

Moving On

I decided to step out of my comfort zone today and go to a cardio class at the gym. The past few weeks i've been going to a yoga/pilates class and really been enjoying it. In order to really get to the next level in my workout i'm gonna have to start going to these classes every week or i'm just gonna pretty much plateau where I am and not really get anywhere. I've been working out consistently since 2003 and have done a really good job of losing the weight that I really was wanting to lose. Once you are almost there and don't have as much to lose it starts getting a lot harder. Thus, the classes that i'm starting to take.
It's sad to say, but in the first 10 min of this class I was ready to sit down. Unfortunately, when I got to the gym I realized that I had forgotten my water bottle, which wasn't a good thing. It was a jammed pack class with a lot of middle aged suburban women and a few elderly ladies, and a few people that were probably my age. However, at times, I felt as though some of these older ladies were in better shape than I was. It was an hour long, very intensive class and even though it seemed to go by fairly quick, there were times, when I just wanted it to just be over. That's when you know that you're being worked. Crazy, but i've not had a workout that hard in a very long time, and I will be going back next week. When I finally get to the point in this class where I don't feel as though i'm gonna die, then i'll know that i'm building up my endurance.
My goal from all of this is to get some more definition on my abdominal muscles and also, lose a few more pounds. I'm feeling pretty good about where i'm at with my weight right now, but winter is coming and I want to make sure that I get through it alright. When I say alright, what I mean is that I don't want to be putting on any extra pounds for "insulation". That's what we wear coats and hats for. Seems like quite a few people around here use that as an excuse to eat all of those holiday cookies and cakes. Not I!
Anyway, winter is here and i'm feeling it's wrath. It has even snowed a little bit already. I'm missing California even more now, than what I already do.
Last week I was motivated to take a few photos of myself so that's what you're seeing up there. Take care!

Some Inspiration

So winter is fast approaching and i've decided that i've got to make the best of it. There are some nice things about the winter months. It's always a nice feeling to be able to curl up on the couch with some hot tea/coffee and be lazy in front of the tv. During the summer I almost feel guilty doing this because I should totally be outside enjoying the weather. Especially since the summer goes by so quickly.
This winter I am gonna try and start some new things. I've had my photo printer for a few years now and have hardly used it, which is awful. I need to start printing out some of my favorite photos and sell them at Etsy.com . I've actually been wanting to do this for a while, but just have either not had the time or been lazy. So now i'm making it my new years resolution to become more productive. At work lately there have been so many slow days that if I had my photos printed out, i'd be able to make cards/post cards, etc.
For a while now, Amir has been working on his album. He's made all of the beats, wrote all the rhymes, and is performing/memorizing them all which in turn is inspiring me. Back in college I was always moved by something. Whether it was all the museums and countries that I saw or all of the plays I watched,I was always somehow immersed in art. After college ends you have to do the work and find the art yourself ,otherwise it's all too easy to get wrapped up in the everyday of working and life.
There will be more photos soon, and if you feel like looking at the ones that are up www.flickr.com/photos/melissajanke

History in the Making

It is hard to wrap my head around the fact that today is election day. I'm SO nervous to see what the outcome of this day is going to be. It seems like by this time tomorrow we are either gonna be embracing change or taking a step in the same direction that we've been going for the last 8 years. I pray to god that doesn't happen. It's been an interesting campaign. There were some people that I specifically chose to not talk to about it all because no matter what you told them they were not gonna change their mind. Then there were the people who didn't do the research, but listened to what their friends were telling them therefore, it was truth. These people are dangerous because they were/are putting false information out there. However, the good thing about this campaign was that it really got people talking. It really got people out there working for a purpose, and united. Well, on the Obama side anyway.
I have been supporting Obama for a while now. I was lucky enough to see him in person in my hometown. He was running for the Illnois Senate seat and so he was doing a bus tour and stopped in my SMALL hometown to let us all know what he was about. He even went door to door handing out pamphlets about himself which I really thought showed how real he was. It was at that point I knew that he would be something great. The way that he spoke was so eloquent and everything that he was saying was what I was thinking. And now he HOPEFULLY is going to be elected President.
Tonight's gonna be a long night as Amir and I wait up to see what's going on with the results. I will be going to cast my vote when Amir gets home from work in a few hours and i'm really hoping that my vote is gonna be helping to make something great.
Everyone must go vote today and if you know what's good for you and the country you live, vote OBAMA!
One last thing, if you are voting in California..PLEASE vote No on Prop 8

Coming Back Around

I haven't been around much lately, but I guess that nothing has been happening exciting enough in my life to warrant a post. So i'm here now still with not a lot to say so i'll make it something real important.
For a while now we've been hearing about how the economy as being in shambles. I've heard people's husbands, friends and so on being laid off. However, i've not really seen too much in my own life, until last month. Most people see massage as a luxury and since money's tight right now we've been REALLY slow. When I say slow, I mean I work eight hour shifts and i'm lucky to see 2 massages in that time. The rest of the time i'm sitting around hoping and praying for a massage, but mainly just playing on my instinct.
Besides work being slow there's not much going on these days. I feel as though my whole life revolves around work. Amir and I just finished watching The Wire, which is an amazing show. It focuses on the city of Baltimore starting off showing us how the people live on the streets and brings us throughout almost every part of the city itself. It's sad that this show never won an Emmy. I guess a lot of the greats never do. I was a little sad to see the last episode because I just wanted there to be more. Amir and I have watched many a series now and everytime it ends I always wonder if i'm gonna find a show as good. So far we've been doing a pretty good job of this. Mad Men's probably gonna be next.
Married life is treating me well. I couldn't have asked for a better husband. He just made us homemade pizza for dinner tonight and they were delicious.
I don't think that many/anyone reads this, but just in case...Hope that everyone's doing well

Not much happening in this hood

So I haven't had much to write about lately which is the reason for going so long without a post. Lately i've been a bit sad that Amir and I have no real friends where we live. I am for sure enjoying being married, but I just wish that we had some friends in this area. I see all of these photos and hear stories of people that I know who are having so much fun going to parties, having drinks, going on nice city walks and then I think of me and Amir. Don't get me wrong, I'm grateful for everything that I have and that i've been given because I have more than some. I do get a bit down sometimes because I feel lonely here. There is still that thought in my mind that I want to move to California to the nice weather and the beautiful scenery, but I somehow try and talk myself out of it everytime because it's so expensive and I don't know how we'd start a family there. Then I have the other idea to move to the Ottawa/Marseilles area because i'd love to be closer to my family, but there really is nothing to do out there. If we wanted to go to a good restaurant we'd basically be driving an hour to where we live now. So i'm kind of in a weird place in my life right now. I thought that things were weird/scary when I first got out of college and didn't really know what I wanted to do. Now I know what my career is, but I just dont' know where I want the rest of my life to take place. I guess i'm still young and don't have to know right now. Hopefully the next place we go, there are some awesome friends waiting there for us. I put some photos up that I took recently when we were in the city. Hope everyone's good!

Family Ties

Last weekend was pretty exciting as we were given a free photog session with the dogs at our vet. They are giving us a free photo for being their customer which is actually kind of cool. So after getting ready we loaded the dogs in the car and took off down the street to the vet. Upon getting there, a note was on the door that which said that they wanted one of us to stay out with the dogs and the other person go check in. After letting them know we were there, we sat outside for only a few minutes before they came to get us. The set up was a little bit small for having two good size dogs walking through, trying to avoid knocking their camera equipment with their tails. Also, there dogs were a bit apprehensive about being there because they know what usually happens at this place. The setting was this: there was a big backdrop there which went halfway up to the ceiling and was on the floor for us to sit on. I knew that getting both of the dogs on there and sitting was going to be a task, and I really hoped that it was gonna happen at all! The 4 of us were all standing along the side and he called first for Amir and Melvin to head onto the backdrop. He had Amir kneel and then wanted Melvin to sit right next to him, but getting Melvin do actually do this, took a bit of time. Melvin didn't really feeling like sitting, but instead when Amir had him sit, Melvin would fall all the way down and then would turn over on his back like he wanted to be pet. He did this like 4 times before he finally sat.
The photographer then called for me and Rufus. Rufus took a few tried before he finally wanted to sit, and he went ahead and laid down on all fours. After a few minutes he sat as he should. Within seconds, the photographer took like 4 different photos. The dogs seemed to be cooperating which was nice and after less than 2 minutes the whole thing was over. We brought the dogs to the car and went back in to check out how they turned out. Unfortnately, the ones that the dogs looked good, the photographer told Amir to stare off into space, which looked a little bit strange. The ones that we looked good in, the dogs were looking as nice, but we ended up picking one of those instead. Anyway, it was a good time, and i'm looking forward to getting our family portrait!

Good to Be Back

It's been a bit since i've written, and I just wanted to say that i'll be back soon enough. I'm not even sure if anyone reads this so they may not be a lot of dissapointed readers anyway. Things have been good with me, just been real busy it seems with work. Then on my days off, it seems as though i've been running around like crazy. Hopefully on Tuesday i'll have some time to do nothing at all! Some things i've been up to besides work:

*Working
*Watching the debates and praying Barack Obama is gonna be the next President
*Feeling like McCain's campaign is a bit ridiculous and how people can really support it unless you are either rich or religious
*Just got subscriptions to Elle and Mother Earth mags and trying catch up
*Playing with my new phone..the Spring Instinct
*Watching "The Wire" on netflix
*Cooking
*Loving my husband and my dogs!
*Got a family portrait with Amir and the dogs!!!

I'm off for now. My lovely husband is making pancakes and we're watching the wire...which is recommend to EVERYONE!

the good life

The last week has been a pretty good one. I've never really had an official photo shoot, but on Friday I had one with my friend, Omayra. I picked a few spots around my hood that I thought would have some nice scenery and she brought a bunch of different outfits to change into. I took a million photos and posted some a few days ago. If you want to see more check out this site: www.flickr.com/photos/melissajanke . They aren't there yet, but they will be in the next few days.
Today one of my best friends and her husband came to town. She's been my best friend since like 3rd grade and a few years ago moved to Arkansas to be nearer to her family. Anyway, they came in to hang out with me and Amir. It's always so much fun, because we don't have any married/couple friends here so it's always good to see each other. So we met at the mall and I ended up getting the sprint version of the I Phone. Until now, i've been wanting to get the Blackberry, but found out it was a bit different than I thought so the I Phone was the way to go. It feels so strange to have something that has always seemed so fancy to me, but im most def excited. I'll keep you posted on my progress learning to use the thing. Haha.
Anyway, i'm out for now to watch Dancing. Peace out!

Omayra's Photo Shoot

My friend, Omayra, asked me to take some photos of her. I took a bunch, but these are just a few to see for now. Eventually, they will be on my flickr site.

The Big Day

These are just a tiny piece of the puzzle of I have of photos of me and Amir's wedding. My friend, Mary Catherine, took all of these for me and i'm finally now starting to organize them all and put them on cds to start printing them out. Christmas gifts to some family I think. There will be more, but enjoy these!