Our Life

You belong with me

2012-02-14T06:45:00.000-08:00

I love this guy. In some ways we were definitely made for each other. So glad we get to spend forever together. Happy Valentines Day :)

Oh, It is Love

2012-02-12T21:16:00.000-08:00

We had Valentines a few days early. We dressed up like we were going to a fancy restaurant, but stayed in instead. It is tradition for Colby to make Chicken Cordon Bleu and for me to make a yummy desert. We had a fantastic dinner. Colby used our china and set the table with candles. The food was as good as anywhere we could have gone. Colby is quit the chef, and my fruit pizza turned out well too. It was a perfect Valentines.

Being together is such a simple pleasure, but we sure appreciate it.

You know you are an accountancy major when ...

2012-02-05T15:39:00.000-08:00

1. You have 3 calculators in your backpack. Just in case.
2. You know just exactly how much of your mortgage goes to principle and how much goes to interest (ouch)
3.You think things like "Don't you dare FIFO me Costco!" when you are picking out a rotisserie chicken.
4. You discuss diminishing marginal returns of study with your husband on a regular basis.

Yep. Accountancy majors. We are THAT cool.

Brotherly Love

2012-01-31T17:49:00.000-08:00

This is what I see every day when I study

We want to re-name them Cam and Mitch

What? Looked like a good place to sit to me!

Silly puppies

Aub's Home Decor

2012-01-31T17:46:00.000-08:00

My friend just started a business selling cute wall hangings. Swing by and take a look!

http://aubshomedecor.blogspot.com/

mmmm

2012-01-30T07:44:00.000-08:00

Easy chocolate fix: Homemade chocolate frosting + graham cracker = bliss. For even greater bliss, freeze them. Yummy. Easy. Quick.

Step By Step

2012-01-24T20:48:00.000-08:00

I have a tendency to want to do everything at once, which more often than not leads to becoming overwhelmed and a bit stressed. I didn't realize how much I stress until I got married to Colby. It seems like once a week, at least, he is saying "you are stressing, aren't you?"
I always like to deny it. I don't always look at it as "stress" and in my mind if I stress I'm some crazy lady who stresses about everything. Doesn't that just bring a picture of some frazzled, uptight woman into your mind?? However, I've come to realize that stressing does not make me a bad person. Life is stressful! It is all about how you handle it.
So, although I said I didn't have any New Year's resolutions - I do have something that I am working on, and that is learning how to handle stress in a positive way.
Part of that is adjusting my thinking from a procrastinator to a do-ahead-er. And part of that is also learning how to take a deep breath and to put things in perspective. I recently saw a quote that said "you can do anything, but not everything" and not everything needs to be done at once (at least, that is what I try to convince myself of). Growing up my mom always taught me that the key to tackling a big job is to do it in small segments. So that is how I've decided to tackle this semester of school, church, and being a wife. I'm trying to do the small things a head of time so that the big things seem more manageable. This means doing the dreaded dishes before they pile up and become disheartening, planning out a menu and sticking to it so I can eliminate time spent on multiple trips to the store, studying for class even though I don't have a test for several weeks (I know, shocker!), etc.
Anyways the point of this post is that I think that we can tackle anything if we set our minds to it. I love the thought that we aren't supposed to become perfect right away - it is a process! And no matter who you are, sometimes life can seem overwhelming. But you just have to take things one step at a time. When I run or workout and I feel like I am at my breaking point I always give myself a marker and say, "ok once I make it to there I can walk." More often than not I find that when I make it there I can go a little bit further. It is simply all about putting one foot in front of the other.

Family Picture

2012-01-16T19:19:00.000-08:00

While we were in Utah Colby's family had pictures taken. This is one of the only ones I've seen, but I love it. I think it will be so fun to look back at our life in a few years and laugh about the time that our 2 dogs were our only "kids." I was glad we were able to capture this moment in time. Thanks to Anna James for the pictures!

Beauty

2012-01-12T07:18:00.000-08:00

I love this.

Sunshine

2012-01-10T19:02:00.000-08:00

Even though I'm absolutely exhausted (and I may or may not be in sweatpants with a fuzzy sweatshirt), today was a good day for several reasons:

1) It is so beautiful here right now. This is why people live in Arizona!!70 degree weather? Count me in every time.
2) I successfully navigated Tempe campus!! Go me!
3) Last night I won $10 because my extra role in the movie "Food Boy" made me the most interesting person in class (check it out, I'm totally in it. Of course the movie is so bad I don't think I've ever watched it all the way through)
4) Netflix has all the Bones seasons I could wish for.
5) Martin Luther King day is just around the corner. I love long weekends!

I hope you all had a good day too.

Little Fish

2012-01-07T14:43:00.000-08:00

The first day of class did not go as planned.

I got to the intercampus shuttle with about 5 minutes to spare. The only problem was that they had moved the shuttle location. SO I trudged off to the new location as fast as I could with my heavy bag over my shoulder. The two shuttles came into sight and my hopes flared. When I was 100 feet away, both shuttles left. Great. Just Perfect. So I pulled up the GPS on my phone, hopped in my car, and drove 40 minutes to Tempe. The only problem is that Tempe campus is HUGE. And, having never been there in my life, I could not find the correct parking lot for my permit. So, being the strong, mature 22 year old woman that I am I found a "pay-for" parking lot that looked like it was close to campus ( I hoped) and had a breakdown. After I pulled myself together and paid the $8 fee, I trudged off to the big building that clearly read "ASU" on it. However when I finally got up the courage to ask two boys where the "BA" was, they told me it was "on campus"
Oh crap! I'm not even on campus?? What the heck. I hate feeling like a Freshman again. Especially since it has been about 4.5 years since I was a Freshman. So I headed off to follow their directions. I finally found my class. And then the whirlwind began.

My thought process went something like this:

"Hey, girl, where is the rest of your shirt? Oh those two holding hands are both girls. I'm lost. Oh, wow... I am clearly not in Kansas anymore. Do people actually consider that a skirt? It looks like it could be your underwear. These kids all look like babies. Maybe I'm old. I bet they were born in the 90s. That kid looks like Zack from bones. Does she really have Anamae as her screen saver? Those kids are NOT speaking English. Did my teacher just say he was raised by circus performers?? And did he just make some comment about syphilitic monkeys? Whoa!"

It was an eventful day.

Blank Pages

2012-01-02T08:23:00.000-08:00

When I was younger I used to write in my journal nearly every day. The biggest excitement about journal writing was getting a brand new journal - it seemed to be filled with possibilities. All of those blank pages just waiting to be filled with new stories, adventures, laughs and tears.

That is how I feel about this New Year. 2012. I don't really have any specific goals to share this year that I am not already working on, but I have some things I know that will happen, some that I hope will happen, and many more that I can't even imagine. I'm excited to see how the blank pages fill themselves.

I always used to tape a quote to each new journal that I hoped would define that part of my life, as well as inspire me when things got tough.

However, I couldn't just choose one!! So here are my quotes for this year, all from Gordon B. Hinkley

“I feel to invite women everywhere to rise to the great potential within you. I do not ask that you reach beyond your capacity. I hope you will not nag yourselves with thoughts of failure. I hope you will not try to set goals far beyond your capacity to achieve. I hope you will simply do what you can do in the best way you know. If you do so, you will witness miracles come to pass.”

“Cultivate an attitude of happiness. Cultivate a spirit of optimism. Walk with faith, rejoicing in the beauties of nature, in the goodness of those you love, in the testimony which you carry in your heart concerning things divine.”

“It is not so much the major events as the small day-to-day decisions that map the course of our living. . . Our lives are, in reality, the sum total of our seemingly unimportant decisions and of our capacity to live by those decisions.”

Have a wonderful 2012. I hope your blank pages are filled with good things this year.

The Holidays

2012-01-02T07:59:00.000-08:00

We've had a great Holiday season. We spent about 5 days with each family up in Utah and had a wonderful Christmas. We are always so spoiled. The best part was seeing family, especially people that we don't usually see. Cade got home from his mission (he's available ladies!) and we got to see Seth and Amanda as well. On my side we got to see Jared, Jennifer, Tanner and Blake (as well as Ryan, Becca, and Olivia). We have such cute nieces and nephews. We love playing with them. We also love that when they start screaming we get to hand them back :)

We drove back home with some plans for new years, but poor Colby is sick so we had a low key movie night. We've so enjoyed this break. It seems like a shame we have to start real life again tomorrow!!

Cute Missionary

Cute Blake

Cute family


Cute snowmobilers

Cute Christmas Puppies

It was a good Christmas/New Years! We hope yours was too!!

Baby Shower

2011-12-18T08:04:00.000-08:00

Yesterday my good friend Melissa and I got to host a fun baby shower for our friend Andrea. It was so much fun. We had a blast. AND, I love having any excuse to buy baby clothes so this was perfect! We are so excited to meet little boy Westover soon!

Melissa is up next. I'm so excited to meet all these cute babies!

Just because this is so true

2011-12-16T20:34:00.001-08:00

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,452186,00.html?cmpid=cmty_fb_How_to_Date_a_Med_Student

Psh. Try being married to one ;)

Ginger-Graham-Marshmallow house making party

2011-12-04T08:21:00.000-08:00

Last night we took advantage of the fact that most people were not in the middle of tests and had a few couples come over to make Christmas houses. It was so fun. I wish I had gotten pictures of the building chaos and the awesome treats that everyone brought, but my hands were covered in frosting.
The Giffords and the Westovers definitely had the most creative houses

Igloo house? and Japanese house? Coolest houses ever!

The Bennetts and the Jones had the most intricate designs

Check out the detail and look at the icicles!

The Cooks and the Eberts had the most "complete" all around houses/cottages

Carson was a big help :)

And ours was most eclectic ... Doesn't surprise me

We had so much fun with everyone. It is nice every once in a while to get together and laugh

Thanksgiving(s)

2011-11-28T15:47:00.000-08:00

This year we got to have 2 Thanksgivings! We are so lucky to have such great families.
We spent Monday through Wednesday with the Nevilles up in Farmington. It was a wonderful, relaxing time. We cooked up a yummy Thanksgiving feast on Wednesday because Kerri, Brett, and McKenna were heading up to Portland to Colby's cousin's wedding (hopefully you followed all of that!). Our feast included 6 pies - 2 apple, 2 pumpkin, a chocolate, and a raspberry creme - many of which Colby made! It was really good food and we had great company. I am sad that I have no pictures ... I'm delegating that task to Colby next time. Although that means we probably have even LESS of a chance at getting some.

Luckily for us my sister in law Becca took pictures on Thursday and Friday at the Jackson Thanksgiving which I promptly stole from her blog. We left the Nevilles bright and early and headed up to Park City. We arrived just in time to celebrate my big brother Ryan's 27th birthday with some games, football, and of course another Thanksgiving dinner! After dinner that night I convinced Colby to come to Black Friday midnight madness with me - a Jackson tradition. He moaned a bit but was a good sport and came. Good thing too because man did he score (while I found nada).
We had such a fantastic time up in Utah and can't wait till we come up again! 3 weeks and counting.

Making the feast

We LOVED spending time with Livi. She is definitely cute enough to make anyone baby hungry!

Lots of games of "Five Crowns"

And Black Friday Shopping at its finest!

A visit to Provo

2011-11-26T20:20:00.000-08:00

We drove up to Utah for Thanksgiving break. We spent the first two days (Saturday and Sunday) in Provo with my family. On Saturday we were able to use my grandma's tickets to go to the BYU football game. We went with Ryan and Becca and my dad. It was COLD (especially for us whimpy Arizonians) but oh so fun!! We took our own hot chocolate and had fun cheering on the cougs.
It was my first game in two years. I loved it!!

We also went and saw the "Vocal Point" concert earlier that day which was really fun. Colby and I were a little out of the loop as we hadn't watched them on The Sing Off, but it was one of those concerts that kept everyone smiling.

This is not the best picture of me I've ever had, but Colby looks good!

What fun we had in the land of the zoobies! (Colby and I both did a huge double take when they prayed before the concert)

Oh, it is love

2011-11-12T10:55:00.000-08:00

This is what Colby brought me yesterday after he finished finals and before he took off on an overnight scout campout.
Does he know me or what?

Banana Bread Muffins

2011-11-08T11:10:00.000-08:00

On Sunday I made some corn muffins that got scarfed and that got me thinking... you see, my banana bread as of late has had a hard time cooking in the middle without burning on the edges, but I had some old bananas just screaming to be used. What if I made my banana bread into a muffin? Turns out it was a fabulous idea.

They even passed the Colby test - tastes just like banana bread :)

So here is the recipe. I modified a few things to cut back on fat and make a more "guilt free muffin"

1cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup wheat flour (you can experiment with how much wheat flour you want in this recipe, just be sure to add or cut from the all-purpose flour if you change the amounts)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
1.2 tsp nutmeg
3 large bananas, mashed
1/2 cup white sugar (originally 3/4 cups)
1 egg
1/3 cup applesauce (you can use oil or melted butter if you please - doing all applesauce does mess with the texture just a bit, not in a bad way, but I figured I'd put that disclaimer out there)
1 tsp. vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees
In large bowl mix bananas, sugar, egg, vanilla and applesauce
In separate bowl mix flour, soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg
Add the dry to the wet and mix. Don't mix these too much - just enough to get everything mixed together into a batter - good muffins are rarely overmixed :)
Place into muffin tins
Cook for about 20 minutes (I am not actually sure how long mine cooked because Colby ended up just taking them out ... not sure if the timer rang or not, so check them around 15 minutes and go from there)

Makes 12 muffins

Happy eating!

Do small things with great love

2011-11-07T08:14:00.000-08:00

Last wednesday as I was studying for a big accounting exam my neighbor came to my door in tears to tell me his roommate had been killed in a motorcycle accident and that his roommate's girlfriend was in the ICU. I didn't really know them, but for some reason this one really hit me hard. I had seen them the day before. I watched every day as the girlfriend of this boy stood out in the driveway and waved at him as he left for school/work/wherever he went. Now she was in the hospital, finding out that this boy that she loved so much was gone. He was my age. I was in a somber mood for the rest of the day, reminded of just how quickly life can change. Reminded of the fact that we shouldn't forget the small things in life, because in reality, those small things are the big things.
So especially during this Thanksgiving season we should remember through the hustle and bustle of everyday life to do the small things. To drink in the beauty of a sunset, to hug our loved ones close, to kiss your spouse an extra time, to call that friend you haven't spoken to in a while, to let people know that you care about them, to find joy in the routine small tasks because they help others. I think when we do the small things with great love we find that the little things in our lives put the big things in perspective ... and maybe even become the big things.

Jack-O-Lanterns

2011-10-29T07:32:00.000-07:00

Last night we had a great pumpkin carving party with friends from our ward. It was a blast, full of BYU football (at least we only lost by 10), pumpkins, treats, and laughs. It is so fun to get to know everyone and have time to take a breath and relax.
The finished pumpkins:

And all the happy couples... I'm missing the one of Erin and baby, as it didn't turn out!It was a shame because she had an awesome pumpkin!

Our unibrow pumpkin

Colby was too impatient to wait for people to come, so he started early

Happy Halloween!

Healthy Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

2011-10-22T08:03:00.000-07:00

I made these yesterday and they have mostly been scarfed. Yummy cookies to get you in the Halloween spirit!
They look a little funky because of the wheat flour, but don't let that fool you.

1 cup canned pumpkin (If you like the pumpkin taste, use more pumpkin and less spices)
1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup applesauce
1 egg
2 cups whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp. cloves
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon milk
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Combine pumpkin, sugar, applesauce, and egg. In a separate bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, ground cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and salt. Dissolve the baking soda with the milk and stir in. Add flour mixture to pumpkin mixture and mix well.
Add vanilla and chocolate chips (The more the better!)
Drop by spoonful on greased cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for approximately 10 minutes or until lightly brown and firm.

*Original recipe found here: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/pumpkin-chocolate-chip-cookies-iii/detail.aspx

Happy Pumpkining!

Lets be honest...

2011-10-21T16:56:00.001-07:00

Accounting homework is great, but I'd rather be at the Taylor Swift Concert.
Sigh.

Yogurt

2011-10-17T19:05:00.000-07:00

They recently opened one of those serve yourself pay by weight yogurt shops around the corner from our house. I think we've gotten yogurt twice a week since it opened. Not to mention the fact that they give a 20% military discount. We are currently on our 3rd punch card.
I call it bliss. Especially the cheesecake squares.

We are obsessed.

Last week's adventure

2011-10-16T15:41:00.000-07:00

Was puppy-sitting. We've developed a friendship with Gus and Eli's breeder so when she headed for an out of state dog show this weekend we said we'd watch 2 of her pups that have yet to find homes (she has already watched Gus for us several times, so we figured it is a pretty nice arrangement).
All I will say is that I am thankful my house is still standing. They really haven't been as bad as I expected (I mean, 4 aussie puppies? How many 5 hour energy drinks does that equate to?) and the pups are very cute and sweet ... but that is too much poop, too much hair, and really just too many dogs. I couldn't even go to the bathroom without 4 furry friends wanting to join me.They go home on Tuesday and although they have provided a lot of laughs, I think I am excited to have my quiet house back :)

Oh, and my bed ;)

On a completely unrelated note, I saw SNOW SLEDS being sold at Costco yesterday. They do realize that it doesn't snow here ... right?

Color

2011-10-06T15:13:00.000-07:00

This week Colby and I have gotten to spend quite a bit of time together! On Monday we went to lunch AND for yogurt and yesterday he called me after school. He never calls me so I thought it was going to be something bad, like "the car broke down in the middle of the 101" or "I have to stay at school all day and study STDs" but all he said was "I bought flowers, so you should stop studying and come help me plant them"

So yesterday afternoon was spent planting flowers. It was glorious! We stole some planters that were left outside our next door neighbor's abandoned house (welcome to Phoenix, where half your neighbors have been evicted!) and I'm pretty excited about them - and so are gus and eli, as you can clearly tell ;) Free stuff is awesome.

Everything around here is brown and dead this time of year (and you probably would be too if you spent 5 months in 115 degree heat) so we are really enjoying having some happy color. I am excited for the cooler weather. Our enjoyable season is finally upon us! We can actually go outside again! (and to all you in Utah who got snowed on today ... well ... you can always come visit us;)

Crafting explosion

2011-10-02T13:04:00.000-07:00

I haven't been crafting so much for the past little while simply out of busyness and lack of ideas. However our ward is going to put on a "super saturday" for all of the sisters, and since I am part of the planning for it I got to try out a few ideas. And this (and last) weekend became a craft explosion
First off were some cute hot/cold rice bags, tutorial found here

Then some fun around the house using an old picture frame, redoing my halloween blocks and making the "joy" blocks that the sisters will have a chance to make at our supersaturday

And then my personal favorite, the temple block (the tutorial can be found here) These were SO easy.

Phew. Well hopefully now that I exploded I have it out of my system for a while as a trudge through the rest of the semester!

The World Spins Madly On

2011-09-30T08:57:00.001-07:00

Between taking tests, doing homework, working, doing laundry, cleaning the house, walking the dogs, putting meals on the table, doing dishes, studying and going through a busy routine every day sometimes I wish for a restful moment. A time that I can feel like I can step back and kind of just center myself, rejuvenate, remember why I am doing all that I am doing. I think we all have those times that life is busy (or even boring!! Having nothing to do can be far worse than having everything to do in the long run) and we just need a little pick-me-up. A time to be at peace while the world keeps going.
That is why I am grateful for General Conference weekend. Is my schedule any less frantic during general conference? Well no. But it still gives me that little happy moment I need to keep going. I like being reminded of Christ, of service, of our individual worth. I love hearing the music and feeling the overwhelming love. I am happy I have something to keep me grounded and at peace as the world spins madly on :)
Bring on Conference!

ps - how great was this talk?! Made me feel so happy.

Goobers

2011-09-26T19:48:00.000-07:00

Not much besides studying is going on around our house. Whoever is ready for this semester to be done raise your hand! (You couldn't see it, but I raised my hand).
However, I do have some funny pictures Gusgus and Eli for your - or lets be honest, my - viewing enjoyment. Haven't met Eli? Well he is staying here indefinitely. We still aren't sure we should keep him ... We weren't looking for another dog, I promise. He just sort of fell into our laps. But for now he is here and having a grand time chasing Gus around the house.
Our dog(s?) make us smile. There isn't anything quite like coming home from a hard day and being greeted at the door by an over-enthusiasic ball of fur or two.

Meet Handsome Eli

And you all know goofy Gus


This last one just makes me laugh...

Ok, I best stop procrastinating and start studyingincome measurement and profitability.

Optimism

2011-09-23T14:31:00.000-07:00

Temperatures dropped from 110 to around 100 (except for today...what the 108?? Lame) and everyone on my campus started wearing jeans and long sleeved t-shirts, like they were just hoping that their clothing choice would influence the weather to continue to drop. It was kind of endearing - all of these poor autumn-deprived kids wishing they could have cooler weather (don't worry, they will ... in like 3 months)

At least we know that college students are optimists :)

Hitting the books

2011-09-15T13:43:00.000-07:00

Both Colby and I have been hitting the books hard this semester. It seems we have hit them so hard that the only pillow Gus could find consisted of a stack of pathology books.

Cold Cold Heart

2011-09-12T18:17:00.000-07:00

Why is this french fry so happy?

Probably because even though it was 97 degrees today (its starting to cool down!) its water is still cold. Plus it didn't have to deal with sweaty frozen bottles that leave condensation all over everything. Ah. The joys of cold water in the desert. Thank you, hydroflask (and Kerri, for giving me said hydroflask) for making the constant 100 degree forecast look bearable.

Ten

2011-09-11T19:43:00.000-07:00

Ten years is a lot of time. Time enough for a 12 year old girl to grow into a 22 year old woman. Time enough to know that the world has changed, and is still changing, and that we can help shape that change. Time enough to look at where I've been and evaluate where I am going. Time enough to learn what my country stands for, and more importantly, what I stand for personally. Time enough to learn that the world is a scary place, but that there is hope, goodness, and beauty all around us. Time enough to know that you can create that hope, goodness and beauty in your own little sphere.

On this anniversary of 9/11 let us remember what happened and honor those lives lost. Let us also look to the past and evaluate our own lives. Are we heading in the direction we'd like to be? How can we each make the world a better place to live for ourselves and our children?

"The way to be with God in every season is to strive to be near Him every week and each day. We truly “need Him every hour,” not just in hours of devastation. We must speak to Him, listen to Him, and serve Him. If we wish to serve Him, we should serve our fellow men. We will mourn the lives we lose, but we should also fix the lives that can be mended and heal the hearts that may yet be healed."
- Thomas S. Monson

Too many books

2011-09-09T10:21:00.000-07:00

Never mind the unholy cost... where am I supposed to put all of these?

(also, realize that these are just MY books, and don't include Colby's, which are bigger and scarier. Also, 4 of these are subjects I tutor so I don't have to read them. Phew.)

Peachy Keen

2011-09-05T19:58:00.000-07:00

Growing up peach season was a pretty important season around my house. We lived 2 minutes from an Orchard stand and had heavenly peaches for several wonderful week each year. We canned bottled and ate peaches like there was no tomorrow. So naturally, peach season is an important part of my life. Last year when I realized that there were no good peaches to be found down here in AZ I almost went into depression (I mean, seriously, have you tasted a grocery store peach??? If you said yes to that question and haven't ever had one from an orchard, or farmers market, put down that nasty grocery peach and run, don't walk to find some quality peaches. That thing is not a peach... it is a sad impression of what a peach could be). SO when I found out a cool company called Zaycon was going to be shipping in peaches from Washington and selling them I jumped at the chance.
I then spent a week or two in peach bliss. MMMMMMMMMM. Still craving them.

There is not much better than a juicy peach.

Freezing some peaches

And of course, making some jam. This stuff is sooo good (and seriously so easy. If anyone ever wants to make jam and doesn't know how, give me a shout out. I can walk you through it. It takes like 15 minutes)

I am so happy I got my peach fix :)
I'm a bit obsessed. Can you tell?

Europe Part 3: Beynac

2011-08-30T12:01:00.000-07:00

On Sunday morning we got in our car in Carantan and proceeded to drive 8 hours across France to get to our final destination: Beynac-et-cazenac
For those of you who have seen Ever After or Chocolat, they were both partially filmed in this little picturesque village. It was like living in a fairy tale village. There was literally a castle ten minutes from our front door, and once at the castle, you could see 3 more. We absolutely adored Beynac.
We explored little village markets, wandered through castles, ate lots of ice cream and rowed down the Dordogne river (which was more than we bargained for!)
Our little house:

Beynac was a once in a lifetime expreience. We are so glad we got to come on this amazing trip!

Europe part two: Normandy

2011-08-29T17:25:00.000-07:00

On friday we left London at the crack of dawn and left from Kings Cross/ St. Pancras station to Paris via the Chunnel. After that we had a ten minute cab ride through Paris to another train station to catch a train to Caen. Once in Caen we went to the big world war two museum and then drove down to Carentan where we were to stay the night at a Bed and Breakfast with a retired English couple (hooray for people who speak English!). After a few missteps, we finally arrived! We had dinner at a little grill thing in town and then promptly collapsed. The next morning we headed off with Keith, our host and a retired British naval admiral, to tour the D-day sites. It was a rainy day, which added to the somber mood that always permeates Normandy.

I have been to Normandy twice before, but it was Colby's first time. Before we came we read things like The Longest Day and rewatched Band of Brothers so we could appreciate the history even more. What I loved about this time in Normandy was that we got to see many of the small, yet significant tributes paid to the allied soldiers in the little towns.

Point Du Hoc - it has been left the same way it was when the Rangers Scaled it on D-Day. What an amazing and awful sight to see the craters in the ground.

The Cemeteries (we went to both American and German). I cannot adequately describe the emotion at felt at the cemeteries. So I won't try. But I will say that there is an immense feeling of gratitude. It was harder this year than it has been in the past. Knowing that I am married to a military man, knowing that each of those crosses belonged to a son, a brother, a husband, a friend. It is amazing the sacrifice these young men gave us.

The guestbook at the American Cemetery

German Cemetery - I had never seen the German side before and it was interesting to see. Although they may have been on the wrong side and under the wrong dictator they were still, for the most part (although not entirely it is especially true on this particular front), young innocent boys, brothers, sons, and friends, and their lives should also be honored.

What a wonderful, yet sobering day. I am thankful for all of those who gave and give their lives fighting for the freedom we enjoy

Europe Part One: London

2011-08-26T09:38:00.000-07:00

I'm finally getting around to posting some Europe pics! London was absolutely wonderful. Something about that old town in magical to me. It is my very favorite city in the world (of the ones I have visited, of course) and getting to share it with Colby this time was really special.
We spent our first night in NY only to find when we got to the airport that the pilot had had an "incident" and that the plane was delayed until morning. This was a bummer in that it meant we lost an entire day in London, but it did actually make time adjusting easier, and our flight was basically empty. It was a dreamy flight.
Here is a run down of what we did once we actually got there:
Day 1: London Eye, Big Ben, looked at Westminister, Churchill War rooms, picnic in St. James's house, Buckingham palace and of course, Nandos and Wicked!!!!

Day Two: After scouring the land for cheap theatre tickets, I realized that I hadn't accounted for the fact that it was, indeed, tourist season in London, so the tickets I was used to getting were all gone. Lame. But we did go to the Orangery, the British Museum and to dinner at Hard Rock. That night Colby and I walked around the West End, just drinking in the atmosphere.

Day 3: On this day my parents left to tour Portsmith and we decided to stay and soak in the last bits of London. Rain and all. It got off to a rocky start when we realized we didn't have a key, but after sorting out everything we headed out into rainy London. We hit up Borough Market, where we ate the best cheesecake of our lives, and from there walked over to the Tower of London, stopping along the way at a fun Christmas market. After the Tower, we ate some dinner at Pizza Express. Mmmm. This day was basically our "hooray we've been married for two years" day in London.

This place was kind of creepy. They just shaved the meat right off the leg...

Oh London. Thank you for being amazing. I love you and I'll be back again... someday!

Redefining Success

2011-08-24T13:19:00.000-07:00

My thoughts today are rather scrambled. Perhaps not even complete ... and inspired by listening to a professor go on and on for about 40 minutes about the importance of planning my career. So hopefully this will make some sort of sense by the time I am finished.

Whenever I mention I am an accounting major to my peers or anyone else for that matter I get all sorts of questions like, are you going to work for a Big 4 firm? Are you going to start your own business? Where are you going to apply for grad schools? What are your goals?

Many of the people who ask me these questions are driven people, career oriented and successful. I always wonder if I would blow their minds if I said: "Well actually as soon as I am finished with this degree I plan on having babies and becoming a stay-at-home mom. The reason I chose accounting was because it is very practical and a great career/job for mothers who can work part time from home and make good money. I don't absolutely love it, but I like numbers and figuring things out, so I don't hate it either"

I can almost imagine the jaws that would hit the floor.

This kind of answer would not be uncommon where I came from (cough cough BYU), and back when I lived there, I really thought nothing of it. However, outside of the bubble that is Utah, it is definitely not the norm. I have realized since being here that there is a lot of "worth" associated with what you "do" with your life. And since I've moved here I have kind of struggled with it. Especially because, like some of the peers who ask me these things, I consider myself quite smart, driven, and successful. Plus I am just a tiny bit competitive. I'd like to think I would do very well in my chosen occupation. So why would someone who could be a success throw it all away to stay home and change diapers and clean up spit up and mop floors?

I think the answer to the above question comes with how you look at it. What exactly are you throwing away? Money, certainly. A bit of notoriety/recognition/status, for sure. But what does all of that really get you in the long run??

The most meaningful things in life are the relationships you build and the lives that influence you and that you influence in return. How could any job be as meaningful as being a mother? I can only imagine these things, as I am not a mother yet. I know that there will be some downright hard days. But I also know that there is nothing quite like it. And I know that simply from watching my own mother and mothers around me.

So what I think I am trying to say is that maybe we, as a society, should re-think how we define success. Perhaps we need to realize that all of the material "things" we strive after really aren't that important, and that people are. And perhaps even more importantly, as individuals we should learn how to feel important, worthwhile, and successful without the world telling us that we are.

This doesn't just apply to women who choose motherhood over a career,and I'm not saying people who have a career and children are awful. In fact I consider them quite amazing. But I think it applies to everyone. Instead of measuring ourselves against others and comparing things we have done, places we've been, and money we've earned, we should realize that we are important simply because we are ourselves, and because we have the power to influence a lot of people around us for good. All of that is harder than it looks or sounds. But I think we just need to remember one thing: We are beings of infinite worth. No matter our status, job, or amount of money. I believe that each of us is a child of God. And so I believe that we are all worth it.

End scrambled thoughts/rant.
ps, no I am not pregnant.

Camping

2011-08-20T17:06:00.000-07:00

It is hot here in the summer. Like melting-you-into-a-puddle-if-you-even-think-about-going-outisde-or-staying-inside-for-that-matter hot. So when our good friends Dan and Melissa invited us to go camping up in the mountains and beat the heat this weekend, we jumped at the chance!
We camped in the Tonto National Forrest. It was refreshing to see so much green. And stars. And sit by a fire and eat peach cobbler. Mmmm...
We did a part of a hike to Horton's creek. The dogs loved it, and we enjoyed laughing at the dogs. We had SO much fun and are already trying to plan the next time we can get away! I am going to miss having so much Colby time when he goes back to school in a week, but this summer has been fantastic.

Dan and Melissa brought their dog Koover's little fence. As you might imagine, it didn't do much for the "big dogs" once they figured out they could jump over it.

On the hike!

Koover isn't exactly built for hiking in hot weather, so he bummed a ride in Dan's backpack

I got the stick, I got the stick!!


Umm... guys? I can't seem to find that rock you asked me to look for!!

Ps, I have a lot of blogs about Europe to do, but every time I think about doing them I get overwhelmed. Too many pictures to choose from. Wish me luck

Happy Anniversary to us!

2011-08-15T18:29:00.000-07:00

It has been two fun, challenging, amazing years. Here's to many more!
(plus, we are officially out of the "newlywed" stage ... right?)

What we've been up to:

2011-08-07T14:08:00.000-07:00

More to come :)

(Almost) 2 years later ...

2011-07-28T17:31:00.001-07:00

I FINALLY ordered my wedding photo book... It has been finished since the day we got our pictures back but obviously it took me a while to order it. It was fun to go through and edit it and remember what a great day it was!

Click here to view this photo book larger

Year Marks

2011-07-27T15:34:00.000-07:00

This week marks our one year anniversary of coming to Arizona. It is amazing how fast this place has become our home. We have grown and done so many things since that first night in a hotel room on the far side of Glendale when we both went to sleep thinking "what have we done?!"
Colby has completed a year of Medical School and I have completed a year at ASU (just 3 more semesters of course work for both of us). We've survived a summer of scorching heat and enjoyed the beautiful winter. We bought a home, a car, and a dog. We've made friends and most importantly grown together as a couple. We love it here and can't wait for three more years of adventure in the valley of the sun!

This week is also Gus Gus's first birthday. Adding Gus to our family has been a really fun experience. Colby and I both really love dogs, and we've had fun going for walks, to the park, to training class, and on hikes together. It is also nice to have him around the house whenever Colby is gone for school or on scout camping trips. Happy birthday to my special boy :) Isn't he handsome?

The newest member of the family

2011-07-21T18:47:00.000-07:00

Meet Silvie:

2010 Hyundai Elantra
20,000 miles
she gets 25 mpg city and 34 mpg highway.

Buying this car was almost as scary as buying the house. Test driving it was (I felt like I was taking my driver's test again!). But she is beautiful and we are so happy to welcome her into the family. Hooray for having two cars!

A little touch up

2011-07-17T21:00:00.000-07:00

Our summer project has been to refinish the ugly old cabinets in our "laundry closet"

Before:

During:

After!

The pictures don't do them justice, but they are a cute sagey green. I think they look awesome. Now if only we had the guts to do our bathrooms ...

Weekend BBQ chicken pizza

2011-07-16T18:21:00.000-07:00

So we really are trying to eat healthier and are doing a good job. Saturday is our "day off" and we decided to make some homemade BBQ chicken pizza. To go with our "healthy" theme, we made the crust with half whole wheat flour, a twist on a family recipe. MMMM. This stuff is good!
What you will need:

Crust:
1 TBSP active dry yeast
1 Cup warm water
1 1/2 tsp. sugar
1-2 tsp. salt
2 TBSP oil
2 1/2 - 3 cups flour (divided equally between white and wheat flour)

Toppings:
barbeque sauce (however much you desire for your pizza)
low-moisture, part skim mozzarella cheese (about 2 cups)
roast chicken
chopped cilantro

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Combine yeast and water, let stand 5 minutes. Add remaining ingredients and knead until smooth and elastic. Place on greased pizza pan and let rest, covered at least 10 minutes in a warm place. Spread with fingers. Bake crust for 10-12 min. Add toppings, and cook to desired doneness. Makes 1 large cookie sheet size pizza.

Bon Appetite!

I Dare You Not To Get Chills

2011-07-14T10:09:00.000-07:00

Harry Potter #7 part 2 comes out tonight. Can it really be over? Can the books and the characters that defined my childhood really be finished? I started reading these books in 2nd or 3rd grade. My mom and I started reading it together, but I ended up stealing it and finishing on my own. I secretly hoped that on my eleventh birthday I would get a heavy parchment envelope with the Hogwarts seal addressed in green ink. I cried during the final book. I went to many midnight showings and first day openings for the movies. I went to the midnight releases for the books. I had Harry Potter parties with my extended family and speculated on what could happen next with my cousins. My uncle dressed up as the whomping willow and my grandma as professor McGonagall. I was the head girl of Gryffindor in my high school Harry Potter Club. And although the final book came out years ago (I was in Hawaii and Rob and I walked down an unlit road to get to the store at midnight), there were always the movies to look forward to. It wasn't completely finished. But now it will be. No more books, no more movies.
It is sad to see things like this come to a close. But it would have been even more sad had I missed out on the magic (pun intended).
Here's to you Harry! Thanks for the ride.

Chaos

2011-07-09T19:14:00.000-07:00

Gus helping us puppysit.

Nighttime Visitor

2011-07-07T09:26:00.000-07:00

Last night we found this little guy as we were getting ready for bed...

Isn't he awesome? Although he creeped me out when he tried to run away. Colby safely caught him and let him loose outside.

And all I could think about for the rest of the night was this:

Happy Thursday everyone, from Annie James and Hallie Parker

Keys to Success

2011-07-05T12:10:00.000-07:00

As you may have read, we are trying to eat healthier. Yesterday we made this yummy mix of veggies, although we switched it up a little by adding our own spices (I grew up in a non-garlic home and am not too crazy about it).
Today I decided that it is easier to eat healthy when it is already prepared for you when you get your snack craving. I mean, peeling and cutting a carrot - we like the taste of carrot sticks better than the baby variety - is much more difficult than grabbing a bag of Cheetos (oh how I love Cheetos!). So I decided that if I could cut up some apples and carrots this morning it would help us decide to eat those instead. However, there is one major problem. I dislike raw carrots. Believe me I have tried to like them ... but we've agreed to dislike each other.So to remedy this I made a scrumptious and still pretty healthy fruit and veggie dip. My friends and I know this as "Willey dip" after our friend Lisa Willey who showed it to us. I added a little cinnamon and tada! Something to help satisfy my sweet tooth while disguising the evil raw carrots. mmmm.

Here is the recipe if you'd like to try to disguise some veggies of your own, or just for your enjoyment :)

1/2 Cup Vanilla or plain low-fat yogurt

1/4 Cup Peanut Butter (go organic or do almond butter for a healthier dip)

1 tsp. honey (or to taste)

Cinnamon to taste

Happy snacking!
"I say keys to you say success!" Thank you Ken Garf.

The Quest

2011-07-03T10:24:00.000-07:00

No, I am not referring to those horrible BYU football shirts that just remind us all how badly we failed that "quest" several years ago.
What I AM referring to is the fact that Colby and I really truly struggle to eat vegetables. So this month I have decided that we are going to be experimenting beyond our usual corn, green beans, and carrots to find stuff that we actually like and ways we can slide vegetables into our daily meals. We want to be healthy(er) people! So please, if you have veggies you like or ways you like them, drop us a note.
Tomorrow I will be buying all sorts of suspicious and terrifying looking vegetables for us to try. Wish me luck.

California

2011-07-02T18:58:00.000-07:00

Our summer of fun continues. This time, with the Nevilles.
We had a blast whale watching, at Disneyland and California Adventure, and of course, at the beach! We stayed at a little place right across from an awesome beach. It was fantastic. I even braved the cold for a couple of boogie board rides. Colby also got to go fishing, which made him very happy. Plus we only live 6 hours away by car, which is nice.
Thanks Brett and Kerri for a great trip!!!

A blue whale! Their tongues are the size of an elephant. So this was only a very small portion.

The goofs

Posing by the airplanes since Colby got to fly one last week at AirForce training.

The Beach!

So long for now California! See you again soon (I hope)

Day of Celebrations!

2011-06-27T20:01:00.000-07:00

On Saturday we did a marathon day of weddings.
I went to Sarah and Nate Jackson's (no relation, ironically) reception from 11-1 while Colby (who flew in at 9) went to Russ and Lucy Thacker's sealing at 12. Then we met up at the Mt. Timp temple for the Jackson's sealing at 4 and headed to Farmington for the Thacker's reception at 7. It was a beautiful day.
I was so grateful to get to be at the sealing of Sarah and Nate and share in their special day! I truly consider Sarah a sister, so I was extremely happy I was able to be there. It was also neat to be back in the sealing room with Colby and remember that day almost 2 years ago when we were married. How time flies.
Congrats to the happy couples!!!!!!!! (Isn't she gorgeous!! ps I stole these pictures, thanks Whit and Kyle)

At Russ's reception with Colby's friends and Sarah's sealing. What a perfect day! Some day I will get a picture where we don't both look hammered ... but it was a long day

Beauty

2011-06-22T20:23:00.000-07:00

As much as I have grown to love the desert beauty in Arizona, in my opinion it doesn't hold a candle to Utah and it's mountains, especially because of how green it is this year!! I am soaking in the beauty while I am here.

Even Gus approves

All things bright and beautiful,
All creatures great and small,
All things wise and wonderful:
The Lord God made them all.

Each little flower that opens,
Each little bird that sings,
He made their glowing colors,
He made their tiny wings.

The purple headed mountains,
The river running by,
The sunset and the morning
That brightens up the sky.

He gave us eyes to see them,
And lips that we might tell
How great is God Almighty,
Who has made all things well.

-Cecil F. Alexander

Wonderful Fathers

2011-06-19T22:02:00.000-07:00

Colby and I are both blessed with awesome dads who've made an enormous impact for good in our lives.

I am especially grateful for my own father, who spent countless hours with me in the gym rebounding baskets, on the golf course perfecting my swing, and on the lake and the slopes teaching me how to ski. He also taught me many things about the gospel and kindness and service. As a busy physician without much time to spare, I know he often chose spending time with me over other things he wanted to do (like sleep!)

I am also grateful for Colby's dad. Not only has he always been great and very fair to me, but he raised a pretty amazing son. He taught Colby how to question things and find solutions, how to work hard, how to run a river full of rapids, and of course how to always say "I'd be happy to"

We love you both more than words can say!

Thanks for everything Bob and Brett.

Happy Fathers Day to all you amazing men out there (including my 4 older brothers, all of which are extremely cute and patient daddies)

On this day, we are also grateful for our Heavenly Father, who has given us everything we have.

Family Beach Pics

2011-06-16T09:43:00.000-07:00

While in SC we had a photographer come out and shoot the whole clan. She wasn't the best we've ever had (that is being nice), and most of her posing could have landed us on awkwardfamilyphotos.com but Colby and I managed to get a few good ones despite the insanely windy night and weird poses. Please disregard my crazy hair

Sarah's Bridal Shower

2011-06-14T09:28:00.000-07:00

I'm waiting to get a the last few beach pictures onto my computer before I post about the rest of South Carolina, but in the mean time I thought I'd share a few pictures of the bridal shower we threw for Sarah Christensen about a week or so ago!
I was excited to have time while I was here to make her a magnet board because, having lived in newly married housing myself, it is always nice to have something cheery on the walls!
It was so fun to see everyone and catch up - people are going in so many different directions and it was amazing to see some of the girls I went to high school with so cute and pregnant! They will be (and some already are) such good moms.
I am so excited for Sarah to be marrying her best friend in t-minus 11 days!

Ralphie

2011-06-13T14:21:00.000-07:00

Our South Carolina vacation with the fam was really great. Except for the part where I embarked on a weight loss/ ab ripper program to rival p90x in a fraction of the time. What could that be???? Well, it is called "Food Poisoning" and it really isn't too hard to get. "Want abs in a day? visit Chick-fil-A!" (ok, I don't actually know if it was the chick-fil-a but I've decided since I don't like them anyway, they are my scapegoat).
Colby probably didn't realize when he said "I Do" that part of his job would be fetching puke-buckets from our hotel room kitchen as I lost it over and over again and then taking me into the emergency room after six hours of nonstop action (and I'm NOT talking about the NBA finals here ...). After about 2 hours of waiting at the ER, I left because they assured me I needed a bed and care but they didn't have one and wouldn't for a while. Even though the cautioned me against leaving, we busted out of there! Here is what I learned:

1) Waiting in the ER is awful. Period. Exclamation Point.
2) Medicine (and doctors to prescribe it) is such a blessing. I never thought to myself "I might die here" but upon reflection had I not had the drugs I got and the fluids I needed, things could have been dire. Aren't we lucky we live when and where we do??
3) The benefit to having all brothers is that you have a horde of Priesthood holders to help your husband give you a blessing.
4) Marriage (sometimes) isn't that glamorous, even at Myrtle Beach - just ask Colby ;)
5) 12 hours of food poisoning is the equivalent of a wicked ab workout
6) I guess this is what I get for titling a beach blog post "Bliss." I'll have to be more careful next time in my blog-naming endeavors.

Charleston

2011-06-08T17:50:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we went to Charleston South Carolina. The south is so beautiful, and has such an interesting (and sobering) history. We mostly spent time around Boone Plantation.

Plus we got to spend time with this little cutie. Can you say (almost) baby hungry??

Bliss

2011-06-06T13:17:00.000-07:00

Drumroll Please!

2011-06-02T16:34:00.000-07:00

I was brave yesterday :) Although I'm still learning how to style bangs ...

Go here for a "before" picture

Walks

2011-05-29T17:31:00.000-07:00

One of our favorite things about our house is that it is near the neighborhood wash. It is the perfect place to get away from the city and take a peaceful walk. It is only about half a block until you reach your own little piece of wilderness (sort of). To date we've seen hummingbirds, roadrunners, a bazillion bunnies and a coyote mamma with 4-5 pups.
One of the best parts about having Colby on break is taking a leisurely walk each morning.
Have I mentioned I love this break?
(ps you may wonder why I only have pictures of dogs. The truth of the matter is that it is easier to take pictures of hyper puppies than it is my husband. Lame.)

Mugshots

2011-05-25T15:59:00.000-07:00

Getting passports is a pain (well mostly just the picture part). So we tried to take our own pictures through an online site. Hopefully they work because the post office charges 15 bucks per picture. Lame.

Fun Crafting

2011-05-22T19:18:00.000-07:00

I've had some free time lately which means craft time!! These were for my best friend Sarah's upcoming bridal shower :)

Summer Begins!

2011-05-21T14:56:00.000-07:00

We made it! One year down! BOO-YA!

I can't remember the last time neither of us had to worry about school, so today we just relaxed and played, took a walk, worked on the yard, perused Costco, shopped for shoes, and most of all just had a really nice stress free day.

To celebrate yesterday we got to go play with some little fluff balls, Colby talked Becky (our friend and Gus's breeder) into letting us take this little guy for a week. He is 14 weeks old, a complete doll, and looking for a home of his own. I cannot believe no one has snatched him up yet.

This is what happens

2011-05-16T09:42:00.000-07:00

When I try to be nice and make a cake for Colby. Ingrate ... ;)

It takes two

2011-05-13T12:45:00.000-07:00

I always say that Colby and I are both in Medical School, even though technically only he is actually enrolled in classes. The reason why? Well there are plenty, but just as an example, I had 3 complete physicals yesterday. Was I sick? At the doctor? No ... just practicing for an upcoming test. Unfortunately the doctor (aka "student doctor Neville") told me off for predicting what was coming next by round three and doing it before I was told ... oops.

One more week of school and Colby gets to come play with me for the summer.
So excited.

Mothers

2011-05-08T20:16:00.000-07:00

I would be remiss if I did not mention all the wonderful mothers in our life today. Both my mom and Colby's mom are amazing women, and so are our grandmothers! I am also constantly amazed by my sister-in-laws and friends who are so patient and caring with their children. When I see women, or any people for that matter regardless of gender, that are so strong, wonderful, kind, thoughtful, smart, funny, beautiful, and patient it often leaves me in awe. I am not sure I will ever be able to be as great as these women are, but someday I hope that I am something close to it. The people who do this day in and day out rarely get many accolades, but they have the most important, frustrating and rewarding job out there. Thank you to all the moms who make the world a better place - one dirty diaper, child's tantrum, load of wash, family dinner, prayer, smile and hug at a time!

We love you Moms!

Wordless Wednesday (kind of)

2011-05-04T13:37:00.000-07:00

In about 3 more months I will be here!

With him:

I cannot wait.

I wish we could go right now. Who needs finals anyhow?

These will probably be my downfall ...

2011-05-03T10:18:00.000-07:00

I really should not be left unsupervised when these are in the house.

Sun Devil

2011-04-28T20:25:00.000-07:00

In about one week I will have finished my first year at ASU. I guess that officially makes me a sun devil. Sparky is kind of a creepy mascot don't you think? And personally I think the maroon and yellow is kind of ugly. But I have decided that although on most days I may want to forcibly shake most of my fellow students for their smoking habits (the one I cannot understand. It makes you stinky and kills you) and their wardrobe choices (seriously haven't Arizona girls heard about bras?) and for about a billion other things, I have learned things here that I NEVER would have learned at BYU, or for that matter, at any university in Utah.
Many of those things are not fit to blog about ... and I won't shock you by printing it, but it has been eye opening. I have also met so many good people and learned to look past some things that previously would have shocked my poor little bubble dwelling self. (like my friend with bright purple hair who swears like a sailor. A very R-rated sailor)
I have also been offered opportunities (because I am on a satellite campus) that I would not have had in Provo. This year I have been a tutor, I was asked to be a public speaking mentor next term, and I've been offered the opportunity to do a service internship - all pretty cool in the scheme of things.
This year has definitely been a growing experience. And I have a feeling that although I will continue to be shocked day in and day out in hilarious ways as I finish my degree, in the end I will probably finish with relatively positive feelings about Sparky. Unless of course, I melt from the heat. Which is a possibility ...

Things I could learn from my dog

2011-04-22T19:23:00.000-07:00

Meet every day with enthusiasm

A walk, romp, or run every day does good things for the soul

All people have the potential to be your very best friend (or at least nice ... unless they are creepy)

Forgive and forget

The simplest things can be the greatest treasures

Life is to be enjoyed

Always wear a smile

It is ok to be goofy

Treat everyone like they are special

Lend a listening ear and dry tears if needed

Time with the people you love is time well spent

No Good Very Rotten Bad Day

2011-04-21T16:51:00.000-07:00

So this morning I wrote a paper. It was actually kind of fun, and I did awesome. I then re-read the assignment sheet. I had written it to an "employee" instead of a "client." One email to the professor later, yep you guessed it, I have to write an entire new paper - which I will be doing after this small rant.
Then I went to the pharmacy to pick up some new birth control. I was thoroughly embarrassed when they told me my insurance didn't cover it and it would be $83! Um ... no way was I paying that.
I then ended up in tears because I am a girl and I'm emotional.
I decided the sample of triple chocolate brownie at Costco would be good to make me feel better. And it was, until I bit a hole (a very small hole) in my lip...
Now excuse me while I go write my "bad news message" to a "client". Sheesh. Bad news is right ;)

Yuck ...

2011-04-14T20:00:00.000-07:00

They sell this stuff called Bitter Yuck that is supposed to discourage dogs to chew on stuff, so I went to PetSmart to pick up a bottle and spray all over our house (our perfect dog became a monster today).
Unfortunately somehow it got on my lips while I was spraying it.
And let me tell you ... it is effective
And it really is bitter
And Yucky
And IT DOESN'T COME OFF!!
:(
On a brighter note hopefully it will work?

A day in the life

2011-04-14T11:24:00.000-07:00

I've had a couple questions about how life is as a "medical school widow" so I thought it might be fun to share what our schedules look like around here.

Most days we have to get up around 6:30 in order to get Colby to class at 7:30. Some days that is earlier, like when he needs to study for test or on those horrible days when his tests start at 6:45. Some days it is later, and those days of sleep are glorious.
Colby is usually in class until anywhere between 12 and 5, at which point I pick him up and he locks himself in our bedroom to study for the rest of the night until around 9. We do usually get to have dinner together which is nice.
So that brings us to the question about what I do with my time. Well, my class schedule is erratic, so I won't try to explain it, but I am usually gone from 2-5 hours a day on campus, come home, work for a few hours, do my online classes, clean, do laundry, vacuum the carpet (because Gus sheds like a wild beast), chauffeur Colby, do the dishes, take Gus for a walk/run/park excursion, shop for food, eat food, and of course, make dinner. I love leftover nights!
The only real hard part is that Colby really doesn't have time to go do fun things, so we mostly just stay at home at watch movies/tv series/biggest loser even on our weekend nights. We spend our time together going on walks and talking. Doing simple things, but good things.

It isn't the most glamorous of lives. In fact, it isn't really glamorous at all.
But it is our life ...
And despite it all, or maybe because of it all, we love it!

Wordless Wednesday

2011-04-13T17:57:00.000-07:00

Motivation

2011-04-09T12:20:00.001-07:00

I have lost mine. If you find it, let me know.

2 things I dislike

2011-04-07T17:03:00.000-07:00

First off with the whole government shutdown thing they are going to stop paying the military and yet continue to pay congressmen. Even if the shutdown doesn't happen, anyone else find that upsetting? I mean we are paying over-paid politicians to bicker and cutting off the resources of people in active war zones.

Secondly, men, putting testicles on your vehicle makes you look like an idiot. I mean seriously??? I've seen WAY too many testicle laden vehicles on the streets lately.

Conference Weekend

2011-04-03T18:22:00.000-07:00

I love General Conference weekend! Listening to the talks and music makes me happy and makes me want to re-dedicate my life. This is going to sound like I am an old housewife, but there is just a nice spirit in our home during conference.

It is also a nice time to relax ....unless you are Colby and you never get to relax... and work on projects. We ate monkey bread this morning, which was so fabulous and easy it will probably become tradition. I got the recipe from my amazing sister in law Becca. I also made a spring wreath for our door and gave Gus a haircut (i.e took off a rodent-sized ball of fur from each ear).

We've now had Gus for over 6 months! Crazy how time flies. We love our goober dog.

The Maze Runner

2011-04-01T21:55:00.000-07:00

Calling all Hunger Games lovers.
Check out the Maze Runner series by James Dashner.
I actually liked the Scorch Trials, the second book, better than the first ... and pretty much did nothing else besides read it today, even though I should have been writing 2 papers and working on a project. Both books were really good and worth the read. So far the series has a lot of similar elements to the Hunger Games, although it wasn't quite as riveting. The third book comes out in October (I think) and I'm excited to figure out the ending. Hopefully it wont disappoint me like Mocking Jay did. Sorry to all you Mocking Jay lovers out there ... I just didn't like that book. Too gory for my tastes.
Thanks to Shelley and Ann for showing us these - I sure got "sucked in" by the maze.

Certainties

2011-03-31T11:49:00.000-07:00

I believe it was Benjamin Franklin who once said that the only things certain in life are death and taxes. I have a few things to add to that list.
1) Doing/putting away Dishes
2)Doing/sorting/folding Laundry
3) Making dinner
OBVIOUSLY Benjamin Franklin was not a a house keeper.
That being said, I am hankering to try some new simple dinner recipes. Anyone have anything to share out there? It seems like I get stuck in the rut of same old same old every day and I'm tired of it! So please share if you have something yummy to eat :)

Denver

2011-03-25T10:48:00.000-07:00

It has been one of those weeks. You know, the kind where you eat frozen pizza for dinner 2 out of 3 nights. So when I came across this little gem, I nearly died laughing. Enjoy :)

Mawage is what bwings us togever today

2011-03-23T17:35:00.000-07:00

In speech class everyone who wanted to be married some day was supposed to raise their hands. Everyone did. But me. Then it was asked if anyone was already married. Yep. Only hand raised. I think I turned as red as my shirt as all 26 pairs of dagger eyes turned and faced my hand, which bobbed up and then down and then up again as I went through the emotions of "Oh I'm married ... crap everyone is staring at me ... blush... ...laughter...well, I AM married." One speech later we were paired boy-girl to listen to a speech on what to do (or not do) on the first date. My favorite line was "keep your hands to yourself. It is a first date. You are not going to get lucky unless you watched a Gerald Butler movie." (Is it just me or does get lucky mean something different in Provo than it does in Glendale??? Somehow I don't think they were talking about hugs or kisses for that matter ;) It is also awkward sitting next to a boy you don't know and having him give you the up-down when you are married. And you know you are married. And they know you are married. Sigh. I wish there were other married people in school with me. Then I wouldn't be the marriage pariah.

Sweet 16

2011-03-19T19:03:00.000-07:00

Here we come

Thank you Jimmer. (and his supporting cast that played so well!)

Head vs. Heart

2011-03-18T18:29:00.000-07:00

Have you ever felt like your heart was pulling you in one direction, but your head was pulling you in the polar opposite one? That was how today felt. Hollywood always tells you to go with your heart. I like that romantic notion, and I like to think that sometimes you really DO have to take the risk and just jump (duh ... did that with Colby, not that my head was really against it, but it had some hurdles to jump and it turned out fabulous.).
However, I also know that Hollywood tells us lots of things that aren't as great in real life as they look on screen. So today, I made a decision with my head.
Sometimes it is no fun to be logical.

Wish we could keep her ...

2011-03-13T19:59:00.000-07:00

I got to come home to these faces today. Pretty nice. Especially after nursery today and the screaming children I had to deal with (they aren't lying when they say it is good birth control).

Sometimes I love Arizona

2011-03-10T20:40:00.000-08:00

Right now is one of the most wonderful times here in AZ. It is like late spring in Utah (minus the vibrant green) and I am in love with this weather.

I also am in love with Spring Break

Oh, and Colby too :)

Weekend in pictures

2011-03-06T18:37:00.000-08:00

Love Phoenix in the winter and when Colby has breaks from school. Glorious

Perspective

2011-03-04T18:00:00.000-08:00

(Disclaimer:Utah Mountains)

Today we went on a walk/hike up a little rocky hill close to our house. The hill is part of a dry wash that we love to walk. It is a perfect place to catch sunsets and let the dog run off-leash and chase bunnies. We have often walked up part of the hill, but not all of it, as it really is very rocky. Like big boulder rocks rocky. However today we climbed to the top. It was on Colby's to-do list for the break and although he did it yesterday, I wanted to come along this time. As I got to the top I was reminded of the power of perspective. Things are so different from a high vantage point. You can see everything around you for miles, you see things that you hadn't noticed before, or didn't even know existed, or had forgotten, or had just plain given up on trying to see because you were muddling along the trail looking at your dusty shoes. How often in life do we forget to look at the big picture? To not only see ourselves and where we are now but to see where we came from, where we are going, possibilities, hopes, bright futures? I realized today that God must look at our lives like he is on top of a mountain. He can see everything, can watch as our choices lead us down certain paths, and can know exactly what we need at every step of the journey. The trick is trusting that everything will work out, because obviously He has a better vantage point than we do. We don't always know what is around the bend (and I admit, that scares me to death). But He does.

Love It

2011-03-02T10:27:00.001-08:00

Surprise!

2011-03-01T20:12:00.000-08:00

We're getting another puppy!

Haha just kidding. I had you there for a minute though didn't I? (because we really do want one)

Kerri flew out this last weekend and we were invited to go meet some new puppies at Gus's breeder's. It was soo fun.

We had a great weekend hanging out and love to see family! It was a fun birthday weekend.

Doesn't this look familiar? It is Gus's nephew/great uncle (talk about a messed up family). Darling.

22 and 29

2011-02-24T10:05:00.000-08:00

You may not know this, but I share my birthday with an amazing lady. Her name is Jean Lee and she is my grandma. She is turning 29 again this year, which means in 7 years I'll be caught up to her :)
She is an amazing woman from a little town in Oklahoma who had to ride the train by herself out to Utah to go to BYU, where she was voted homecoming queen runner up and met my grandpa. She was quite the knockout, and from what I'm told grandpa had to steal her away from the boy she was "going with" at the time. I get many traits from her, my love of travel, of clothes, of snacks (especially Swedish Fish). More importantly comes a love for the gospel, of which she has quite the legacy in the form of her family. She is also the definition of a classy lady. Someday I hope I can catch up to her in that as well.

Happy Birthday Grandma!

Rain

2011-02-19T15:13:00.000-08:00

Today has been rainy, and Colby and I have both been busy with school so we haven't really exercised Gus. I put him outside so he would stop distracting me. I should have realized that the combo of bored Aussie+mud puddle+burying a bone would = this:

(Wait ... didn't my dog used to be white?)

Oh no! Not the shower! I'm not that dirty ... I swear!

I guess he is over his fear of mud-puddles.

Valentines

2011-02-16T10:21:00.000-08:00

We had a Valentines weekend this year because we knew that Monday was going to be a crazy day for Colby (what with his finals approaching and all).
We have a tradition of staying home (instead of fighting the crowds) and making dinner. Or I guess, Colby makes dinner and I make dessert. Colby made delicious chicken cordon bleu with rice, carrots, and green beens, and got me some gorgeous garnet earrings to match the necklace he gave me the day we got married. I love them! I got him NCIS season 2 and a murder mystery book. Romantic eh? We also ate molten lava cake (which I might add, was to die for).
Monday we had Chinese food - his family tradition.

It was a great valentine's day and I love my valentine!

Granny B's Cookies

2011-02-14T14:21:00.000-08:00

When I was in seventh and eighth grade my school came up with what they felt was a great marketing plan. Everyone had the chance to buy their friends Granny B's cookies for a dollar each that would be delivered on Valentines Day. This in my mind was a good example of social repression. Lets reinforce the already strict social order in a middle school! Poor kids like me with braces, acne and frizzy hair had to watch as the popular kids got cookie after cookie after cookie. I was lucky if I at least got one. Upwards of five was a feat. The uber popular kids always seemed to traipse out of the school with at least a box. It was like that book, "You are special" where all the popular wood people get green dots and ugly people get red dots, and your mom and dad try to tell you that you really are special, but they are your parents and they have to say that, so it really doesn't count. Anyway, it was, in a word, horrible, and now that I look back, almost hilariously funny. How is one person supposed to eat upwards of 50 Granny B's cookies. Isn't that like 3 billion calories? No wonder we have childhood obesity.
So moral of the story is, if you have a kid you know in Centennial Middle School go buy them a cookie and leave it anonymous.
Spread some Valentine love
p.s. if you got a box, I still like you.

(Post on actual Valentine's festivities to come!)

Sith Lord

2011-02-11T14:32:00.000-08:00

Happy Friday!

Inviting all to come unto Christ: Sharing the gospel

2011-02-02T17:47:00.000-08:00

I found this on a friend's blog. It is really cool, good for these kids! I wish I was that brave

After

2011-01-29T15:38:00.000-08:00

Not what I was hoping for. But my hair is shorter. And I like it ok :)