My Birth and Family, Questions 5, 6, and 7

Continued questions from the This is Me Challenge

5. How was your relationship with your siblings and parents?

When I was living with my family, my relationship with my siblings was pretty similar to other people's - we fought a lot!  We would have fun and joke with each other, but unfortunately, some of the time I not very nice to my brothers.  I had a hard time learning patience, but my mom persevered and taught me well.  I eventually learned to be more patient as I got older, and it has helped me today in my career and marriage.  Today, my brothers and I don't fight, but we do tease each other a lot!  I can't wait for Jordan to get home from his mission and for Jared to graduate high school.  It's so strange that they are old enough to do things like that!  

My parents and I have a good relationship.  We've always been pretty open with each other.  Parts of our personalities are very similar which makes it hard sometimes (especially when you both want something one way, lol) but good communication helps us out!  I love my parents!

6. What are some lessons/values you learned from you parents?

Communication
Punctuality (especially from my dad)
Respect for others, but especially for myself
Honesty
Hard Work
Integrity
Love of learning
Kindness
Spirituality
Dedication

7. How did you help in your home? 

We had jobs to do every week.  We would each clean our room and a bathroom every Saturday.  Every day we would do different things, like: washing dishes/filling dishwasher, folding laundry (when we were little), doing our own laundry (when we were older), setting the table, weeding the garden, walking the dog, cooking food, cleaning various parts of the house, etc.  It taught me to be a good worker and value the things I had.  

My Birth and Family, Questions 2, 3, and 4

Continuing with questions from the This is Me Challenge...

2. What are your parent's full names, birth dates and places?

Mom: Melanie Arlene Cuthbert, nee Lassig.  She was born on November 12 in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Dad: Steven Russell Cuthbert.  He was born on August 4 in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Birth Dad: David Allan Beers.  He was born on November 25 in Bountiful, Utah.

3. What is the date of your birth?  Where were you born?  What are some of the circumstances (when your mom went into labor, how long, her doctor, etc.) of your birth?

I was born on August 8, 1988 - 8/8/88 in LDS Hospital in Salt Lake City, Utah.  The due date was 8/7/88 and my mom went into labor that afternoon.  She came to the hospital with her parents, Klaus and Arlene Lassig, and they stayed with her throughout the whole process.  My birth father had died a few months before I was born, and because of that, the last few months of the pregnancy were hard on my mom.  I'm so glad her parents were there to support her.  She was given a Pitocin drip and then an epidural.  She slept through the night while the contractions got stronger and stronger.  Omi (my grandma) was shocked that she was sleeping through the contractions, because she could see how strong they were on the monitor.  I was born at 7:58 AM (almost 8, dang!) after she pushed only three times.  She said I was the easiest baby of hers to give birth to.  Her doctor was Dr. W.G. Pead.

4. What are your siblings names and birth dates?

Jordan Evan Cuthbert was born on January 20, 1992
Jared Thomas Cuthbert was born on October 16, 1994

A New Approach to Flashback Friday

Just found the best idea on Pinterest.  Sometimes I wish that I had been clever enough to come up with these ideas, however, I'm totally willing to use other peoples ideas.  I found this, and want to start using it for Flashback Fridays!  Not only will this help me to start writing my personal history, but it will help you all to get to know me better.  Yay!


So, here goes.


Question number one: What is your full name and how did you get that name?  Do you have any nicknames?


My full name is Melyn Arlene Henderson, nee Cuthbert.  Melyn was my mom's friend's name, and Arlene is my maternal grandmother's name.  I have TONS of nicknames, not all of them nice.  People obviously can't pronounce my name so I've been called: Melon, Maylynn, Merlin (??), Mulan, Mushu (from Mulan - get it?), Melon-head, Melon the Felon, Watermelon, Mel, and I'm sure there are more I can't remember.  Basically, I'll answer to anything!


These nicknames bring back the multiple memories from middle school, junior high, and high school.  I was teased so bad because of my name!  But I love my name because it's so unique.  I've never met another Melyn.  One time a boy in middle school called me Maylynn, and I got so mad at him and everyone else for calling me the wrong name, that I actually grabbed his arm.  Granted, I was only 11 at the time.  I've since grown more mature (haha) and just let people call me anything.

House Hunting

Today I'm remembering the many, MANY times I've been house/apartment hunting.  These are the years I have moved since high school: 2006, 2007 (twice), 2008, 2009, 2010, and now in 2012!  I have it down to a science.  First, search Craigslist - every day.  You need to tour the places.  You need to ask all the questions - how much rent?  How are the utilities?  What is the management like?  And in Richmond, how safe is the neighborhood (especially where we're looking, yikes)?  Then you need to narrow it down based on distance to work, school, grocery store, gym, bank, etc.  It's a ton of work!  I'm looking forward to the day we make our last move ever.

Remembering Springtime

Spring has blossomed up here in Richmond, Virginia in a matter of days.  It's been so gorgeous!  Before we left on vacation, it was all brown.  Now, there are reds, purples, pinks, whites, oranges, and GREEN everywhere!  The temperatures have been amazing too - 70's to 80's every day.  I love it!  It really makes me think of all the springtimes when I was a little girl and we lived in Bountiful.  I remember playing in Omi and Buppi's yard when I was little and digging in the dirt.  One funny spring experience when I was about 5 years old was when Omi and Buppi got their lawn aerated.  I was so deathly scared of stepping on the aerated dirt because it looked like dog poop!  I am so excited for the day we have our own house so I can garden and have flowers, bushes, and trees all around.  Hope your spring is just as beautiful as ours!

Gorgeous RedBud trees near our house

Flashback {Saturday}

Having been in Moab for the past few days has brought back so many memories. My family came down here at least every year when I was growing up. Sometimes we would even come twice a year! We love the red rock, the difficult hiking, and spending time together as a family. One memory in particular is of me and brother Jordan hiking Delicate Arch. We went all the way around the bowl at the end and spiraled down to the bottom of the bowl. We were always having adventures and daring each other I do things like that. Our favorite hike of all time is Fiery Furnace, with it's winding maze of rock fins, light play, and peaceful quiet. It's a hard hike, but so gorgeous that's it's worth it.

Flashback Friday

Today I'm remembering...the many, many visit I've had to the eye doctor. I got glasses when I was either 7 or 8, and switched to hard contacts when I was 11, then finally to soft contacts last year. I have awful vision! Hopefully I'll be able to get some cute glasses when we get insurance again. I remember when I first got glasses, thy were huge circle ones and came with a flowered case I picked out :) haha!!

So Happy

Well people, I told you it would be an attempt to blog three times a week.  Guess I shouldn't make any promises the week I start a new job.  Speaking of which, I've been so thankful for this decision.  It's is one of the best choices I've ever made.  The people are so nice, and I'm going to be orienting for 6 more weeks!  It's awesome and I'm so so happy.  It has been difficult trying to adjust to days (I'm not a morning person!) though.  Waking up at 5:15...and going to bed at 9:30...not so fun.  But I'd rather take days over nights.

Valentines Day was so fun.  I love all holidays, and we celebrated by going to our favorite, Plaza Azteca. I had decorated the house all cute and when I got home from work, Jordan surprised me with the CUTEST stuffed frog that I've named Freddie the Frog (I'm obsessed with frogs, as seen here), the most beautiful roses I've ever seen, and a sweet valentine.  He knows me so well :)  I made him a valentine and tons of chocolate for his long studying sessions.  After dinner, we went to the Blockbuster rental and after looking at the selections, said, "There's nothing good in here.  Do you want to look?"  So I hopped out of the car and the first thing I saw was...Breaking Dawn!  Um, it's Valentines Day!  Let's watch a romantic movie!  So, needless to say, I have the best husband ever, because he agreed to watch it with me.  Regardless of the fact that we both laughed at the awful acting, it was awesome.  

Last Thursday, the 9th, my orientation for work was held in this small room in the hospital.  There were 30 of us packed into the room and no room to move our chairs.  So we were all twisting to see the speakers.  Not so good for the back.  The next morning I woke up with a small twinge in my neck, but when I leaned over later, I got this MAJOR sharp, shooting pain all up my back.  It was awful.  I knew I had pinched a nerve, and was so mad.  Our insurance from my last job cancelled in January and my new insurance doesn't start until April...so we couldn't really see a doctor.  Turns out, I was in so much pain by lunch that Jordan got me an emergency appointment at a chiropractor near us.  He adjusted my back and popped it like 20 times in the process, gave me a TENS unit, some topical cream, and instructions to relax!  It took a while for my muscles to get back to normal, but today I feel almost 100%.  Lesson learned: always adjust your chair so your nerves don't freak out!

Today is VCU's annual Winter Ball.  I'm so excited - pretty dresses, mani/pedi, great food, and DANCING.  I haven't forgotten Jordan's promise from the last dance that we would dance the night away.  I'm so exicted.

And finally, it is Flashback Friday.  Today I'm remembering the Valentines Days from when I was in high school.  My boyfriend from HS gave me a jewelry box full of those Nestles Treasure chocolates and put roses in my shower and said now that I've showered you with roses, will you be my valentine? It was cute :)  Ah, high school.  Good times.

Flashback Friday

This Flashback Friday is in honor of Punxutawney Phil!  Unfortunately, Jordan doesn't share my love for "that rodent who thinks he controls our lives."  But I honestly love Groundhog's Day.  It's the best!  When I was growing up in Mapleton, our family would celebrate Groundhog's Day at our dentist's house (the Lunds) in the Mapleton 8th Ward.  We would have groundhog themed food and watch the movie.  They even decorated their house with groundhog decorations.  It was so cool.  Maybe I can persuade Jordan to stop his aversion to groundhogs, and then we can have parties every February 2nd.