New Holder Family Addition

This is Tiger, my family's new baby Yorkie. I know he doesnt look much like a ferocious Tiger, but...yeah, he is not ferocious at all. He is super sweet. Tiger has an obsession with feet and looks very cute running to catch up to anyone. His little legs start going a mile a minute, though it hardly appears he is moving. His nub of a tail wags when he is excited, but you probably wont notice unless you actually look for it! I think he is going to be a cuddler for sure. He only weighs a pound and a half right now, but is not expected to grow larger than a mere four pounds. What a cutie and a great addition to the Holder family!

(As a side note, I think Jersey and Brooklyn could eat him as a small snack...so we will probably not be introducing them any time soon!)

Shelley's wedding

This weekend Miss Shelley Toney finally became Mrs. Cruz! Everything was absolutely beautiful; especially the bride! It was a very heartfelt ceremony full of love. And the reception was a lot of fun, as all the family and friends were able to shower their love and encouragement on the happy couple.

I had a great time catching up with some of my old friends. I have really missed the company of Sarah, Tory, and Danielle since I moved to Spring, and it was a great chance to hang out with them again. I dont think Danielle liked taking the bottom picture...she still works at Systek. Hehe, we mainly took it to give Shelley a laugh when she develops the cameras sitting on the reception tables. There will be no question as to how she knows us!

I'm very thankful to have each of these girls in my life, and I pray that God will continue to bless Mike and Shelley's life together forever.

My pretty puppies

Jersey and Brooklyn have sure grown up fast, but they are still as soft and cuddly as ever!

Dont you just love the picture of Jersey sleeping all crazy next to the fireplace? That is her favorite place to be.

I dont have many pictures of Brooklyn...she won't sit still long enough to take any!

Both of these dogs bring a lot of fun and joy in my life because they love me unconditionally. I couldn't ask for more!

Hunting pictures

I know a lot of you have been dying to see a picture of Jesse hunting on the golf course, so I thought I would post some pictures. This way you can also see how nasty the nutria really are!

My cute hunter! He looks like a Pro!
Okay, NASTY! That is a huge, hairy rat!!
This should put in context how large they really are- that is a deck on one of the creek beds, and that dead nutra looks pretty big to m
See?? Now aren't you glad we are helping to get rid of them??

Rodeo 2006

Here are some of the pictures from the Rodeo this year!

Working from home

I have finally started working from home some, and so far, I absolutely love it! Here are some reasons why working from home is better than working at the office:

1. It does not take me an extra hour to get ready in the morning; I do not have to put on makeup or fix my hair if I do not feel like it.
2. I'm saving money on gas. Granted, my commute to the office is not far, but still!
3. If I am in a bad mood, no one else has to know about it. I do not have to put on a happy face.
4. When I have time for a break, I can be productive at home (doing some dishes, changing the laundry, etc), whereas at the office I just walk around and talk and possibly disturb others.
5. I am not disturbed BY others who feel the need to talk loud or listen to their conference calls on speaker phone...!
6. The quiet environment means more productivity in my work: quieter room = more concentration = happier Melody = higher quality of work!
7. I can listen to music if I choose, without having to wear annoying headphones.
8. At home, I have an "office with a view;" mainly meaning I have a window to the outside and get to look into my beautiful backyard.
9. I do not feel as bad when a personal phone call comes during the day, and do not have to whisper when I talk.
10. I get to control the thermastat! So I am never freezing cold or burning hot.
11. I do not feel pressured to eat out all the time; so again, saving money on food.
12. I probably eat healthier, because I cannot be tempted to eat junk unless I specifically buy the junk.
13. I feel like I get to see my husband more, even if he is in the other room.
14. I get to spend more time with my puppies and do not have to keep them kenneled up so much (which I hate having to do).
15. My office at home is much prettier! If I am going to be contained in the same place for hours on end, it should at least be pretty.

These are just a few of the reasons I know I am going to love working from home. :)

My new obsession

Jesse and I went to the Rodeo on Saturday afternoon and we had a great time. I have been to the Rodeo almost every single year, for as long as I can remember- it is always a great time, but this year has probably topped my list.

I was very excited to see Martina McBride on the lineup, and when I found out she was playing on a Saturday (so Jesse could go), I bought the tickets right then and there. I have always been a fan of hers, but after watching and listening to her live, she has become an obsession. I have never sat in a concert with tears streaming down my face, completely touched by the music. Every single song she sang gave me goosebumps all over my arms and legs. Afterwards, I just wanted to listen to the songs over and over (luckily 100.3 KILT plays a Rodeo replay after each show, so we got to listen to her all the way home). I sincerely put Martina McBride up with the greatest female vocalists of all time- she could hang with Whitney Houston, Celine Dion, Mariah Carey, Barbara Streissand and other female powerhouse vocalists. She is one of the best. Not only that, she is sincere, genuine, and a real-life person. She loves her family, lives for her daughters, and wants to help encourage women, without all the liberal feminist views . What a role model!

I know that most people enjoy music in their lives. (With a name like Melody, how could I not love music?) But what I do not understand, is how people can feel unaffected by music. Sitting in that concert, I could not keep my feet from tapping, my hands from clapping, and my eyes from welling up everytime she hit a powerful note. I would look around me and see people talking, playing around, eating their food, or just sitting like a bump on a log- completely unaffected. How is that possible?? I know music may not be everyone's life, but it is just something that gets inside you and has to come out!! It is a feeling, an emotion, and it deserves a reaction!

Music is an art, and Martina McBride is definitely an artist! I am so glad I was able to go see her live, and I can only hope that the LeeAnn Rimes show I am going to next week is half as good.

Success!

We went "hunting" again last night, and Jesse actually got 2 nutria!! It was the first time I have seen one live, and let me tell you- they are nasty! When they call them giant rats, they are not kidding. Gross, hairy rats swimming in the ponds. I'm debating whether or not they can truly see red light. Supposedly, they cannot, but last night it seemed that they can. There was one swimming, and I was holding the light up so Jesse could see him to shoot him. Well, sure enough, the nutria ducked under the water. He popped up again when I turned the light off, but as soon as I turned it back on, he was gone again! We never did find him again after that, so I'm sure we will re-visit the same spot again since we know there is for sure one living in that pond.

It is so wierd driving around suburban Houston on a prestigous golf course with hunting gear!!

OH! Last night as we were driving back to the shed to put the golf cart away, a police came flying down the street with his lights and siren going. I'm sitting in the front of the golf cart carrying a 22-automatic shotgun on my lap!!! I felt like I was seriously getting chased. (Luckily the police went flying right by and no interest in us whatsoever, but it was still scary!)

Fun times at the golf course! :)

Hunting on the golf course

The ponds at Jesse's course have had some trouble lately...it seems that something has been eating all the vegetation around the ponds and lakes. However, the crew are out there all day long, and never see anything on the banks. They figured out this week that nutria live all around the water and feed strictly at night. They dont know how many of them are out there, but they are causing some serious damage and need to be stopped!

So, Jesse decided that he was going to go and hunt the nutria at night. Now keep in mind that he has never shot a gun before. He calls me all giddy, saying that he is going to buy a red light for his hunting trip. I was like, "excuse me?" Haha. I made him wait to go back up that night until I could go with him. (I did not like the idea of him out there with a gun that he has never shot before all alone.) Monday night we went up to the golf course at about 8:30pm. It was such a rush driving around the dark golf course, dressed in my navy hoodie (pulled over my head; it was cold!), while carrying a loaded 22 semin-automatic gun in my lap!! I was nervous and excited the whole time...Jesse was just plain giddy! He really wanted to find one so he could shoot it. I asked him what it would look like. He grinned and said, "a giant rat- like the size of a dog-only it swims." Ummm...WHAT?

We rode around all night, sat in silence watching and waiting, and after 2 hours, we were both getting tired and cold. But we had not seen anything fun to shoot! All of a sudden, I heard a sound on the bank of one of the ponds. I pointed the red light over there and could see eyes looking back at me. I whispered to Jesse to come take a look. Well, he checked it out, and it turned out to be a GIANT bull frog. I sighed in frustration. Jesse looks over at me with a devious twinkle in his eye and a big grin, and says, "think I should the shoot the frog? I have to at least shoot something tonight!" I was ready to see some kind of action, so I dared him to. He actually GETS ON THE GROUND all hunter-like, (I'm dying trying not to laugh so I can hold the light steady), and finally pulls the trigger. I half expected him to miss, since the frog is still a relatively small target and he has never really shot a gun, but no. He hit it and it exploded!! I mean, he DEMOLISHED that frog!!! I just busted out laughing, and he was beeming from ear to ear. It was so hilarious!! Of course, the houses that were only about 100 yards from where we were, probably did NOT think it was hilarious. Only about a minute after he shot the gun, we heard sirens in the distance, and we both freaked out. It was time to go home!

So, we have not killed any giant rats yet, but I did do some research so we can use it as bait to bribe them then shoot them! The pictures on the Internet are really ugly- seriously. Orange teeth, webbed back feet like a beaver, hairy with a thin long tail like a rat...gross.

The best part was seeing Jesse get so excited about getting to be manly and shoot the gun. Then when he actually destroyed the bull frog, he was so proud of himself! If he ever does kill a nutria, I think it would be hilarious to get it stuffed and tell him to hang his hunting game prize in his office!!! Haha, he would be so grossed out! Probably not the best idea, but I think this could become a fun new hobby for us!!! :)