hi...i'm the other Melissa

i've never blogged before...i've never looked at a blog or posted on one...nothing. This is totally new for me...sort of a revelation. So, thanks for inviting me, Tammy! i've really been enjoying reading all of your posts. Once I get over my performance anxiety i'll publish a few of my own (maybe).

anyway, introduction...I'm Melissa O. I live in Nelson, BC. I moved here over the summer with my husband, 2 black pugs, baby boy & 18lb cat. We love it here. It's beautiful, great community, friendly people..a nice place to raise a child and a fun place to be an adult.

I'm on maternity leave right now, which ends next month. I've been loving it & i'm not sure how i'll fare when my time comes to return to having a more "normal" routine. I'm dreading that. I'm a home-body. I love being a home with my baby doing whatever i want whenever i want. I'm sitting in my pajamas, nursing & eating pie as we speak. The winters are pretty dark here, so i spend a lot of time in my PJs. I love that.

My dad was an Iowa farm boy. When he graduated from college & moved to Saudi Arabia to make some money. That's where he met my mom. She was actually from Egypt, but she was living in Saudi Arabia because her dad died & her mom married a Saudi guy and moved the whole family over there. My mom and dad ran off together, got married and had 2 kids - me and my little sister.

My dad loved being off the farm, so we traveled a lot. We lived all over the place...Saudi, Egypt, Syria, Greece, then a short stint in Quincy, IL (??!), and then back to Greece, then Bahrain (the smallest island nation in the world and now the home of Michael Jackson).

I still really love to travel, but haven't been able to do much lately. My Top 5 dream destinations: Morocco, Sri Lanka, South Africa, Italy, Nova Scotia.

I graduated from high school in Bahrain, went to college in Oregon (studied journalism and fine art photography), then moved back to the Middle East because i missed it. I met my husband over there. I was living in a communal house in Dubai & he moved into the room downstairs. We used to flirt in the kitchen and walk to the gym together. Eventually we fell in love and moved to Canada. We got married in 2002 and had the sweetest, cutest baby boy in 2005. He's got blond hair & 2 teeth (my baby, not my husband).

I immigrated here because i really love Canada. While i was waiting for all that paperwork to go through i went back to school to study baking. Now i'm a pastry chef hoping to one day own my own little cake shop.

I love to cook, have friends over, hang with my baby, do crafts, read...and watch a little too much trashy tv in the evenings.

Nice to meet you all!