Melificent

Archives for February 2010

Walk 4 Autism

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I used to work with autistic children when I was younger and it was something that really had an impact on me. Although it was probably one of the most challenging jobs I have ever had, I loved every second of it. At times I would come home scratched, bitten or just flat out exhausted, but I felt like it was all worth it because I was changing and having an effect on the life of a child. Nothing was more exciting than seeing these children I worked with progress, decrease negative behaviors and acquire new skills. Although I no longer work with this population, ultimately my career goal is to once again work with autistic children as a behavior analyst and do everything in my power to help not only the children, but their families.

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I participated in the Walk Now for Autism Speaks in 2008 and was able to raise almost $1000 for the cause with the help of my amazingly generous friends and family. I know it is a very rough economic time, but I have decided to do the walk again this year as Team Melificent. I would love to top last time’s donation, but realistically have set it for lower.

If you wish to make a donation under our team name, please click here.
Any amount will suffice.

Also, I would love it if all my local readers could join our team and walk with us on Saturday, April 17th, 2010 at Nova Southeastern University. It is absolutely free to become a team member and it would be really special if we could come together to do something like this. I’ve always wanted to use this blog for good, and this seems like the perfect opportunity.

Thanks everyone!

Nothing is irreversible

Wow what a night!
As promised, here is my “better late than never” post about last night’s LOST party and 2-hour season opener. The first half will focus on the party and then I’ll make sure to put any spoilers or information about the show under a cut so that those who have yet to see the show won’t want my head on a platter. 😉

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The party was a complete success! Almost all of our LOSTie buddies were able to make it and I think it’s safe to say that we all had a great time being little fan girls and boys together. In case you were wondering, that’s my super-duper-I’m-so-excited face in the photo above. We were about to hit play on the DVR.

lost1: Both the hubs and I made Sawyer-iffic fish biscuits thanks to this great recipe. It was really difficult and quite the mission, but I think they turned out pretty decent. And they ended up tasting like animal crackers – nom nom!
2: I made my infamous pumpkin cupcakes (recipe here) with cream cheese frosting. In order to make them Dharma worthy, I added some fun custom flags (template here) with the Dharma logo on one side and the numbers on the other. They were a huge hit!
3: The complete table setup. Plenty of Dharma rations and a little recruit area complete with party favors (Dharma mints) and job titles on labels. Our guests were able to choose what job they would like in the Dharma Initiative. I really enjoyed watching people as they picked their occupations. It was really fun 😉
4: Mini chocolates also were dressed in Dharma gear. The remainder are now at my office – they are dangerous to have laying around the house.

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The beginning of the end.

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For all us LOST fans, today is a very important and special day. Tonight marks the season premiere of the last season of LOST ever. Ever, people. This is it. What all of us have been waiting for all these years, but at the same are so sad to face. A show I was lucky enough to be exposed to since before the beginning – I first caught wind of LOST at Comic Con 2004 when the creators and actors presented the pilot episode to a very crowded Room 20. Also, in a moment I will never forget, I was able to attend the last ever LOST panel at Comic Con 2009. It’s been a huge part of my life for the past 6 years: while away at grad school, the hubs and I would watch LOST together over the phone, when I moved back home, we began hosting LOST parties for every premiere and finale, I created some friendships due to the show and converted countless others into LOSTies thanks to our extensive DVD collection.

So today is bittersweet for me. I sincerely think it is/has been the greatest TV show of our time and think others are going to have a very difficult time living up to its legacy. We will be hosting our largest LOST party to date tonight and I have put countless hours into preparing Dharma-riffic decorations, food and beverage. Definitely more so than other years. I can’t wait to share tonight with some of our closest LOST fanatics and hope the other LOST fans that read this blog can do the same! Have a great time and I hope to be able to share some of my thoughts on the party and show tomorrow (so it may be a little delayed).

I’ll leave you with some pictures from the Sunset on the Beach event in Honolulu this past weekend courtesy of DarkUFO.

Namaste!

Weekend Highlights

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This weekend was all about birthdays! On Friday night, we celebrated my friend (& co-worker’s) birthday by getting together for happy hour at Gatsby’s. I got to spend time with people I hadn’t seen in a long time and missed a whole lot and also got to drink $2 Blue Moon’s. I was a happy camper! We then moved the party to the Kendall Ale House for a couple more beers and good times. I’m pretty sure the party kept moving along, but we got off the train after the Ale House (ah, being old).

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