Things worth remembering from FB this week!

I am thankful for... by Nancie J. Carmody

...the mess to clean up after a party
         because it means I have been surrounded by friends.
...the taxes I pay
         because it means that I'm employed.
...the clothes that fit a little too snug
         because it means I have enough to eat.
...my shadow who watches me work
         because it means I am out in the sunshine.
...the spot I find at the far end of the parking lot
         because it means I am capable of walking.
...all the complaining I hear about our government
         because it means we have freedom of speech.
...that lady behind me in church who sings off key
         because it means that I can hear.
...lawn that needs mowing, windows that need cleaning and gutters that need fixing
         because it means I have a home.
...my huge heating bill
         because it means that I am warm.
...weariness and aching muscles at the end of the day
         because it means that I have been productive.
...the alarm that goes off in the early morning hours
         because it means that I am alive.

wa wa wa

Waaaaaaah!!! I HATE cooking! Everything I make never turns out how I want it to... I think it's time I start following recipes and stop trying to invent  things cuz it's not working. Quick! I need some yummy, cheap and easy recipes STAT! Got any favorites? I'm desperate, I'll try anything!

Big news!



This is us at my graduation!! If only I was looking the right way....

 I will be working as a LICENSED REGISTERED NURSE at Banner Good Sam on the neuro/med surg floor!! And you wanna know what the scary thing is??? Ok, I'll tell you... I start on Monday! (everybody scream) I'm a little nervous but mostly excited because I have been working towards this since I was a weee little girl and I can't believe that I am actually at this point in life! I still feel like I'm a little kid.... who's married, graduated college, expecting, and about to start a new job... Whoops did I accidently say that? Well if you didn't already know before (which most of you did) than you do now! I am almost 13 weeks along and the due date is Feb 13th! (which seriously seems FOREVER away... baby makin is a slow process especially with impatient parents like Jamie and I) I can't hold out as long as Annie did, I'm just not meant to keep secrets, I was made this way... Hahaha! I secretly want a girl but Jamie thinks it's a boy because of our last ultrasound... I tried to tell him it was a leg...

11 weeks 3 days
(FYI this is not the pic that convinced Jamie it was a boy... if you want to see that one you have to come over and look at it on our fridge)

 
 So... back to what I was saying before we got distracted... Because I am going to be working finally (instead of doing absolutely nothing for the whole summer) I am going to try to plan out our meals better! I seriously hate going to the grocery store and I usually only go once a week or less so we end up spending a lot of extra money/wasting food due to not having a meal plan. But I found this cool website http://www.designfinch.com/ on my new favorite website... PINTEREST this morning!

I'm going to be using the brown and green one that says, "Daily Eat Sheet"! I am hoping this cute little chart will get me in the habit of planning out our meals... here goes nothing! There are a lot of different kinds of lists on there too so you should check it out!

Lately...

Have I told you lately... I love you like crazy!?



And this is the exact reason why I never have any good pictures of us, because someone (who cannot be named) has issues taking a normal picture without doing something weird! Bad babe!

The last few fourth of July weekends we have gone camping up in Heber to watching an AMAZING firework show. They shoot off the fireworks in the bottom of this valley and everyone that is watching them sits higher up on the mountainside on the baseball fields and stuff. So when they go off they seem like they are literally right in front of you and the sound just booms through the canyon. It's pretty amazing and anyone is very welcome to come with us next year! But this year the fireworks were cancelled due to the fact that half the state of AZ was on fire :(  Despite missing the fireworks show this year, we still had a blast camping in Payson! On Saturday morning we made breakfast burritos in camp and then packed up to go hike down Box Canyon which is  a really really fun water hike that has natural slides and cliff jumping. As we were hiking out the monsoon rolled in over the canyon walls and it was gorgeous!! I bet you wish I had pictures right about now... me too... but sometimes it's just more fun not taking pictures. But I googled box canyon and found this picture:

There now you can kinda feel like you were there... almost.

But we did hike down the salome jug canyon a few weeks ago and Devan managed to take some pictures on this hike! We had a blast and there were luckily no accidents to report!!

the end.

Proud to be an American

The Fourth of July is one of my most favorite holidays ever! It doesn't get any better then bbq's, family and fireworks. No presents, no stress, just family. And to make things even better... it's my Grandma PJ's birthday! What an amazing woman! She had such a strong love for her country that was apparent to everyone that knew her and you couldn't help but absorb some of the patriotism that she radiated. EVERY fourth of July we would bbq and swim at her house (which was DECKED OUT in red, white, and blue) and she would make us homemade ice cream :) I feel like I understood the importance of being an American at a very young age thanks to my grandparents. My Papa Althoff can talk for hours about all of his war stories and was very proud to serve his country.

THIS website gives a little tribute to my grandma and grandpa:
                  
The couple had five children who P.J. often raised single-handedly while David was off on military duty. His 20 years of active service included 1,080 combat missions in Vietnam. During his second tour to Vietnam, he received the 1968 "Marine Aviator of the Year" award. He has flown 26 different types of aircraft, earned 76 medals, and was shot down four times. He's been inducted to the Arizona Aviation Hall of Fame and the Arizona Veterans Hall of Fame.

I am very proud to be an American :)

mMmm Muffins!

Who needs a microwave when you live in an oven...

Haha I got a muffin 'to go' from Paradise Bakery this morning and they didn't heat it up in the microwave for me :( No worries though! I used some quick thinking and realized that its really hot by 10 in the morning. So I just put it up on my dash while I ran into a store and problem solved. I had a nice warm muffin waiting for me when I got back in my smokin hot car :)

Hello summer!

Weather for Phoenix, AZ

108°F | °C Mon Tue Wed Thu Clear Wind: NW at 8 mph Humidity: 5% 107°F   110°F   112°F 112°F

I know you're jealous... NOT! Get me out of here!! Snowbirds know what they're doing people! Even if they do drive really slow and take up the entire parking lot at Costco!

Summer time and the livin's white... I mean easy :)

Bahaha! I couldn't resist posting this picture :) For Memorial Day weekend Jamie's good friend Nick (the one who was involved with the dune buggy accident here) came home from South Carolina. Don't worry... the Navy is teaching Nick how to NOT blow up nuclear reactors on a submarine... maybe I should show them that video. We had lots of fun relaxing in the pool, drinking ibc's and eating hamburgers! And if you're wondering why Jamie is wearing a pink sombrero it's because Nick's dad was being blinded by Jamie's whiteness and thought he needed something to shade the sun lol.

Top 10

Just so you all know....

Hanging up the laundry is at the top of my top 10 list of things that I do not feel like doing right now! And yes. I did take the time to make it look more presentable for a picture. And yes. I am spending more time whining about it then I probably will spend actually putting it away. This is how I feel about you laundry... : P

Just something to think about...

Many of us create to do lists to remind us of things we want to accomplish. But people rarely have to be lists. Why? To do’s are activities or events that can be checked off the list when done. To be, however, is never done. You can’t earn checkmarks with to be’s. I can take my wife out for a lovely evening this Friday, which is a to do. But being a good husband is not an event; it needs to be part of my nature—my character, or who I am.
Or as a parent, when can I check a child off my list as done? We are never done being good parents. And to be good parents, one of the most important things we can teach our children is how to be more like the Savior
-Lynn G. Robbins of the Seventy

Another cool quote I heard this week-

"When your child comes into the room does your face light up? Do they see in your eyes that you're glad they're there?"
-Some lady on the Oprah Show

One year ago today...

One year ago today was NOT a good day! I was scared to death and it was horrible! It was the worst day of my life hands down. I don't really feel like writing out the whole story but I think you get the picture... And Jamie gave me permission to put up these pictures!! (and yes, I really did ask)



Warning: some are kinda yucky!

                                                             



Just transferred from the ED and in his room in the neuro ICU at John c Lincoln. Laying flat because his T12 vertebre is shattered and a chip of bone is right next to his spinal cord



He's pale because he lost a ton of blood that's dumping into a massive hematoma on his right side- receiving blood transfusion. I'm pale because I feel like I'm about to pass out...



No picture of him after surgery to repair his shattered T12
(After we told him how horrible it was Jamie wanted to see a pic of this and asked why we didn't take a picture... I don't know maybe because you had a tube down your throat and we thought you were gonna die!!)



Morning after getting off the ventilator. He's not Asian, just puffy from getting pumped full of fluids after loosing so much blood during surgery. He was so swollen when he was on the ventilator that he made Derek look small when he was standing by his bed. Jamie's just happy he gets to drink water and watch the Suns game :)



Getting out of bed was NOT fun!!



 Ok, here come some yucky pics!



This makes me hurt :(

The first time I saw the incision site!! I was sooo scared! I had just assumed that it was gonna be some tiny laproscopic scar or something... I was wrong! That little stitch on top is from where the chest tube was!



First shower a couple weeks after being home from the hospital

The red marks on his back are from bruising, the only road rash he got was that tiny little red patch on his right elbow!! 





His souvenir he got to take home from the hospital! No, magnets don't stick to it and he doesn't beep when he goes through metal detectors... boring!!





I am SOO grateful that Jamie is alive and is not laying in a bed paralyzed! Jamie was so strong through the whole thing! You could tell that he was in A LOT of pain but he never complained even once. Believe me, if I had been the one in the hospital bed I would have been screaming, not to mention that if it had been me that I wouldn't be alive after being trown out of a car going 65 on the freeway!! I am also SOO grateful that hard things make us stronger! This brought Jamie and I closer than anything else ever could have a month and a half after getting married! I love my strong husband!

Party Time!!

I passed nursing school!!! Ahhhhhh! I can't even believe it! I have wanted to be a nurse for so long and now it's like really happening! It's so funny because this whole semester I was so stressed out that I was gonna fail but really I had nothing to worry about! Now I just don't know what I'm going to do with all of my extra free time since I don't have to always make myself feel bad for not studying. So now I just have my preceptorship at Banner Gateway OB on the postpartum unit, graduation is May 13th and the NCLEX! After all three of those things I will officially be a registered nurse! It's crazy to think about all that has changed within the last two years of nursing school and there will so much more change these next few months. I'm a little scared, but it's more of an excited scared so that's ok :) Wahoo!! I PASSED NURSING SCHOOL!! Happy dance.. happy dance!!

Grateful

I'm grateful for a lot of things in my life
but today I am especially grateful that I was raised in a safe home
that my parents loved me
that they protected me from a lot of scary things in the world
that they taught me wrong from right
that they raised me to be a good person
that they helped me to learn and grow just like every kid should be able to do.

I spent 12 hours on the adolescent unit of the psych hospital today.
I saw how detrimental it is for a child who does not have a safe home.
I found out a lot of evil things about the world today that make me feel sick.
It makes me feel even more sick to think that innocent little kids are affected by such evil.

I called my mom right after I got out of the hospital to say thank you.
She said she would've killed anybody that ever tried to hurt us.
I wish the kids that I met today would've had someone to stand up for them :'(

A Few Questions :)

Here are some really cool pictures that one of my friends posted on facebook and I really like them!

Definitely strength! It takes a lot of courage to show people your true emotions sometimes.

 

Seriously! I would kick myself to the curb right away! I love how we can list off a thousand things that are wrong with ourselves before we will say something positive. I just love it.. NOT!

When life gets hard serve others.

Not that being productive is a bad thing but really, is all the stress of today's society worth it?

I LOVE this one! It makes so many different thoughts come into my head about the things that are most important to me right now. It also reminds me of a line from one of my favorite efy songs... "will I hear Him say well done when He sees who I've become?"

Pics from this blog: http://www.aaanything.net/40316/pictorial/random/25-beautifully-illustrated-though-provoking-questions/

ONE mOrE Tesssst!!!

I only have ONE MORE TEST left in nursing school!!! I finished my last pysch test yesterday so now all that's left is my FINAL on Monday! I seriously cannot believe it, I have wanted to be a nurse since forever and now there's a good chance I might actually become one!! :) After my final I start my preceptorship working the night shift at Banner Gateway in OB. Bring on the babies!! :) I'm so excited!

And just because I think he's cute...

Bahahaha!!
(This is what he gets for not looking at my blog)

This is from when we went to Cali to go to SIX FLAGS and Knott's Berry Farm but it rained the ENTIRE TIME!!!! I don't wanna talk about it.... I'm still a lil bitter.



Did you know?!

Did you guys know that you can print out your blog and turn it into a little book??? Maybe this is just common knowledge, but I just saw this on Cutest Blogs on the Block and thought it would be a really fun idea to do someday. Especially if your posting about your kids and stuff! Do all websites like cutest blogs on the block do this?? The world may never know...

Time to get a lil mud on the tires!

Ok, I lied.. we didn't really get any mud on the tires, just dust. I LOVE camping. A couple weeks ago I didn't have clinicals on Saturday so we got to take off and head up north. It was amazing! If you really know me than you know that I would rather be in the woods than anywhere else. Who needs to take showers anyways??... Jamie and I decided that our 10 year plan is to quit our jobs and go live in the woods (he just doesn't know it yet, that's why it's our "10 year" plan and not our "in a few months" plan) So don't be surprised if one day I just stop answering my phone and you can't find us anywhere. I won't have cell service... I have Tmobile haha

Hint: Start looking HERE (see picture below)



Colcord Rd on the way to Haigler Creek... good tires required!



Me in my natural habitat

Jamie thought this tree looked scary so he wanted a pic with it... I wouldn't mess with him...

On our way up to see the water wheel falls just north of

You can't tell but there is a 50 foot drop off right behind us!! Not gonna lie, I was a little scared...

 It's too bad I'm a terrible photographer and these pics don't do any justice... Oh well, just trust me that it's gorgeous up there! A few other highlights from our trip: quading on a quad that is waaay to fast... I don't care who you are, fishing in the creek that I have fished in since I got my first Barbie fishing pole back when I was like 6, sitting by the fire eating cheese burgers and drinking IBC's, sleeping in the back of the truck looking up at the stars, and watching HEROEs on our laptop for a few hours (thanks to Dug and Breezy getting us hooked on another series!!), and eating egg burritos is the morning by the fire! I bet you wish that I had pictures of all of these special moments... but I don't... it's just an added benefit of being a terrible photographer haha.

PS. I didn't catch any fish!! I'm blaming it on Jamie for trying to shoot my bobber with his new sling shot that he brought... boo!