The Garrett's (but really just Brittany)

Working in the NICU

2012-02-12T02:21:00.000-08:00

Tonight when I walked into work I looked at my assignment and found I was being floated to the NICU. I'm not terribly fond of NICU, NOT because it's babies, but it's sick little babies and I hate little baby IV's. Lucky for me, no little baby IV's tonight. But tonight reality has really started to sink in. The babies I'm caring for were born at 32 weeks... that could be my baby in 6 short weeks. Do you hear that??? Just over a month away! It's just unreal to me. These little babies are just barely bigger than the baby I feel kicking me constantly throughout the day. It's wierd that I have one inside of me. I am completely ready and so excited, but at the same time it's completely unreal and I'm not sure what I have gotten myself into. Sometimes when I'm at home I lay on my bed and lift up my shirt and watch as my stomache morphs with those tiny little kicks and tickles. Like right now, I can look down and it looks like my stomache is twitching underneath my scrubs. Unreal and so fascinating.
ps. In the NICU there is a big poster of a really muscular dad with no shirt on holding and kissing his tiny baby... it's just nice to look at. :)

24 Weeks

2012-02-07T20:59:00.000-08:00

She's gonna be a soccer player! Yes she is!!! This girl might be just 24 weeks old, but holy cow does she pack a punch. She goes crazy, especially when her dad talks to her before we turn out the lights to go to sleep. She is known for tickling me with some crazy move just before I drift off to sleep. When I say tickle, I mean she literally makes me laugh out loud it tickles so much. She has also startled me several times in public. I can already tell she is a Daddy's girl with how she treats me! Life will never be the same. We can't wait to meet little Holly.

Outings

2012-02-07T20:28:00.000-08:00

Brady and I have been itching to get out of town to enjoy new scenery but with our schedules we just can't seem to go anywhere for more than an afternoon together. We hopped in the car and drove a whole 2.5 miles to a nearby botanical park and duck watched and reminisced about the past and made plans for our future.

Yes, I took a picture of these Saguaro and Nopales. I thought it looked pretty.

The rest of these pictures were from last Sunday. We were taking a small walk around the neighborhood and talking about what we wanted to have for dinner. I said campfire dinners sounded good. Thirty minutes later we were on the road with campfire dinners headed to Coons Bluff to start a campfire. Of course there was a fire restriction so we ended up using the barbeque that was there.

Brady modeling.

Brady not modeling.

Me, being fat and lazy.

While Brady slaves away.

And I got the campfire dinner I wanted!

Dancing in the Rain

2011-12-13T03:41:00.000-08:00

Brady and I went for a walk in the rain. We originally were going to steal my mom's umbrellas, but when she told us she left them in her car that my dad was driving, we decided to go anyway. At that point it was hardly sprinkling. Twenty minutes into our walk, it started pouring on us. We kept walking and holding hands, loving every second of it. Brady even thanked me for walking in the rain with him. It was refreshing and it feels so good to be back to my (almost) normal self. We hope it's not tooooo temporary, trying to soak up every fun moment we can get while I'm feeling "good". I even jogged for a good 10 seconds until I realized that I couldn't run without holding onto my growing belly since I could feel it bouncing around. That was an odd realization especially since I have had every intention of running again once my nausea passed. But I love the rain. And tonight even though I am at work, every couple hours I look out a window and see it still raining, it makes me look forward to crawling into our bed that Brady is currently warming up for me and hope he'll snuggle with me just long enough until I fall asleep. Does the rain make anybody else feel mushy? Or is it just me. I love the temporary change in weather, I just wish I had more shoes that were more waterproof. And this is the point where I stop talking because the sleepiness is beginning to talk for me.

Temple Christmas Lights

2011-12-12T08:40:00.000-08:00

I got put on-call (again!) for work Sunday night so Brady and I decided to take advantage of our night together so we went to the Christmas lights at the temple. It's always colder at the temple, but it was nice to get out and spend the evening together. Suprisingly there weren't as many people there as there usually is! Made it nice for us though. Afterward, we drove around and checked out all the pretty houses with lights.

Gratitude

2011-11-24T02:09:00.000-08:00

It's Thanksgiving morning... and I thought it fitting to write a Thanksgiving blog. I had a lot on my to-do list. I was going to get my Christmas decorations up, paint my ugly candlestick holders and shelf, do a little apartment decor shopping... but things don't always go as planned. In fact, really nothing has gone according to plan the past four weeks. In spite of it all however, my life is nothing short of absolute sweetness. I have so much to be grateful for.
1. My wonderful husband who has done nothing but support me and stepped up to almost any task I put him up to despite being as busy as he is. He has been absolutely wonderful through my constant illness and has never once acted frustrated with anything. Except he did laugh when he came home this past weekend to me on the couch with a big pump hooked into my stomache, giant IV pole, and a big bowl beside me for the "just in case". That wasn't funny then, though I'm sure someday it might be.
2. Our jobs. We couldn't love our jobs more and we feel so blessed to have them when so many are struggling to get one.
3. Our educations. Even though Brady is just beginning we are grateful for the opportunities that we have to learn and progress.
4. Grandma's. Both of our grandma's are some of the greatest people we know.
5. Family. I don't know how we got so lucky to have the two greatest and funnest families we know of. And for the most part we are all best friends and get along. And when things get tough, our families are always the first to call and lend a helping hand. I don't know where I would be without our families.
6. The Gospel. It's great to have all the answers I need to be happy.
7. Zofran, although I hate having an ugly pump hooked up to me 24/7.
8. The list could go on and on but I will end it with #8 I am grateful that my charge nurse is sending me home early since we are overstaffed. Sweet! Life is good.

Upgrade!!!

2011-11-07T14:48:00.000-08:00

Brady and I moved to Mesa really close to my parents... and I mean REALLY close... like the same apartment complex. We love it so far, close enough to have somewhere to go to when bored and far enough away where I'd actually have to get some sandals on to walk over there. It's clean, I haven't seen anyone rolling weed yet, and I don't smell smoke. The new paint smell is finally wearing off thank goodness as that was not a good smell for my nausea. It's clean (minus the major need for dusting), new and it feels so good to have an extra bedroom! It'll be a great place for the next year or two until we decide to buckle down and buy a house.

A mouthful for me, and some for the basket...

2011-11-07T14:33:00.000-08:00

A few baskets of these...

All cut up into a few baskets of these...

Are going to make a great year supply of Grams Simmons world reknown frozen strawberry jam. I'm looking forward to this weekend when Grams will show me how to make it. MMMM!!! I got very full while cutting them up because I kept eating them. (Superstition Ranch Market has strawberry pints on sale 2 for a dollar... fresh and delicious!)

Utah

2011-10-23T18:51:00.000-07:00

What a month for flying!!! The week after Brooke got married, I came back and worked my 3 shifts while Brady drove up to Utah to be a groomsman in his friends wedding. I flew up there that weekend and spent Saturday through Wednesday enjoying the family, throwing up, sleeping, and playing with everyone. We carved pumpkins for family home evening and Anayah even got her own little baby pumpkin (she helped the rest of us carve our big kid pumpkins).

This hayride was at the pumpkin patch where we took the girls to get the pumpkins. It was a cute farm. Brady and I planned out our future plans for buying a farm someday...

This was at the Bountiful temple. It was gorgeous inside and out. It's at the top of a big hill and you can see the whole valley, it was probably one of my favorite temples now. I wish I was feeling better that day to enjoy it more, but the wedding was beautiful as they always are in the temple.

I was supposed to drive home with Brady Wednesday but decided to fly home instead because I was so sick up there. This baby is like a mini parasite. A cute parasite, but a parasite nonetheless.

My Love

2011-08-01T03:04:00.000-07:00

I'm sitting here at work at it's 3am... I have a little downtime and I'm looking through blogs and I just keep thinking about how badly I wish I was sleeping next to my love. I'm not one to be mushy and gooey on my blog, but tonight I just miss him, and his birthday is on Thursday so I thought it appropriate to write a mushy post about him.
Brady always knows how to make me smile. When I say "don't you dare think about waking me up in the morning" he says "baby when you get home in the morning, come in and jump on me so I can hold you". He is so smart... he'll talk your head off if you ask him about the weather forecast for the week, or how tornados are formed, or what the average high is in any given state in the U.S (I think he may be like my dad where he just says numbers confidently so you can't tell if he's pulling them out of his butt or if he really does know). If the tv isn't turned on to the weather channel, you can be sure he's got a John Wayne movie playing. He always tells me how pretty I am, even when I'm waking up in the afternoon after my 3rd night shift in the afternoon, baggy eyes and all. He rubs my belly when it hurts. He can eat cheddar cheese and peanut butter jelly sandwhiches like they were going out of style. He thinks making the bed is stupid since it's just going to get messed up anyway, but he occassionally suprises me with a loaded dishwasher and clean sink. He thinks it's hilarious to smother me with his body after he's been running in 105 degree weather. He's the greatest man I could have ever hoped to marry, I'm not sure how I got so lucky. I never knew I could love someone so much. I love you Brady, happy birthday.

I Have A Crush

2011-07-25T13:53:00.000-07:00

His name is Dave. Cathy introuced Brady and I to his book The Total Money Makeover last year and we have been hooked ever since. His Get-Out-Of-Debt plan is so simple and sensible. I recommend anybody, wether you are in debt or not, to create a budget and follow his "baby steps" to getting out of debt. Brady and I are doing it little by little, but I can already see the difference in our relationship and how happy we are that we are taking control of our debts and not giving in to our wants. Check him out: www.daveramsey.com He is an attractive man though, I think. :)

Gurrrllz night!!!

2011-07-04T22:12:00.000-07:00

Happy 4th of July! Afton and Paige spent the night at my place while Brady was at work. We had a family barbeque/family home evening at my gram's house then the girls and I came to my place and we watched Blind Side and The Sandlot. Then they did a suprise "makeover" and turned me thug-a-licious. The pictures are all backward but you get the jist.

2011-07-02T21:48:00.000-07:00

Brady and I went goofy golfing... we tied. I talked a big talk though so I think I had him working extra hard to beat me.
My hot date. He knows how to strut his stuff!!!

Happy Birthday to MEEE

2011-07-02T21:43:00.000-07:00

Brooke, Briley, Jen and Cathy took me to Cheesecake to celebrate my birth. It would have been a wonderful night if I would have been feeling well but I just felt like crap! But thanks girls for taking me! I always love getting together with friends, and I'm so lucky to have such wonderful ones! I wanted to devour that cheesecake, but my body was telling NOOO!!!

What Should We Do Tonight?

2011-07-02T16:21:00.000-07:00

3pm Thursday
Brady: "What do you wanna do tonight?"
Me: "I dunno, what do you wanna do?"
Brady: "Let's go to the beach."
Me: "Tonight?
Brady: "Ya."
Me: "Hm... I'm down."

We ate way too much food but got the perfect amount of sun. It was such a nice day.

I'm not your mom!

2011-07-02T16:15:00.000-07:00

My mom and I got into my car the other day and this baby bird jumped onto my car window. It looked hungry and I couldn't tell if it could fly or not but it did jump on my car so I knew it had some good hops at least. I flipped my wipers on and it jumped off. It was borderline creepy, but mostly cute.

God Really Does Give Us Dominion Over the Animals!!!

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

On our way home from shopping we stopped by a park with a giant pond near Mesa Riverview and there were all these ducks. We started randomly talking about whether the animals know what their purpose is here on Earth (one of our many random conversations). We talked about how God gave his children dominion over the animals and whether or not they have perfect obedience to Heavenly Father. These two ducks had been hanging out with us this whole time. In the middle of the conversation Brady says "Duck, dive down into the water!" And no joke... the duck dove down into the water! I was laughing so hard. I got my camera out and told Brady to command the duck to dive again and the duck did it with perfect timing!!! I must say... I think my testimony grew just a little more that day haha.

Pretty Boy

2011-07-02T15:55:00.000-07:00

This is my brothers boy. I was teasing him putting the head band on him and he actually kept it on and started making cute little faces. He's so stinkin cute.

My favorite Desert Plant

2011-07-02T15:50:00.000-07:00

I think it's some type of Yucca plant.

I have never noticed these until this past year. They come in ever shape color and size. Gilbert road has a bunch of them in the median. This one is near Greenfield and Southern. I want a few in my yard some day. They're so beautiful when they flower.

A Woman of Many Talents

2011-07-02T15:44:00.000-07:00

My mom has been spending weeks at work painting the walls at her work. It's a lot of work and I'm pretty sure I've noticed her right bicep is a little more defined than her left now. Well done mother!

Buzz Cut

2011-07-02T15:20:00.000-07:00

My entire life my dad has had this swoopover type of hairstyle. In preparation for his surgery at the end of May he allowed all the grandkids to take turns buzzing his hair. He didn't want to have crazy bed head this time especially since there was a chance he could be in the hospital for a while. He's such a stud with short hair!

Just a few of the grandkids.

Bittersweet story however, a couple hours before his surgery, one of the doctors decided they didn't want to do the full surgery because of his weak heart so he only got a part of the surgery that he wouldn't have to be fully put under for. Oh well, we're just glad he's healthy and happy and SOOO good looking!

You know you're crazy when...

2011-06-10T21:54:00.000-07:00

You are rushing around and you push the elevator button at work to take you to the first floor but the doors never shut so after the 6th time of hitting the button, yelling "WHAT THE HECK!!!", leaning against the side and growling at the doors... You realize you've been hitting the floor you are already on.

All I did was turn 25!!!

2011-06-09T14:24:00.000-07:00

They say after your 20's your body starts to go downhill. I had no idea.
So my nurse practitioner told me I had a large thyroid. And no, that was not a compliment. Imagine the shame of being told you have a fat neck! Got some blood tests, did an ultrasound and was referred to an endocrinologist. Sure enough, I've got an enlarged thyroid and a little cyst next to it. Nothing to worry about though, I'm not dying anytime soon. Nor do I need any treatment other than taking a thyroid medication and a check up in 3 months. He thinks it is an autoimmune disorder called Hashimoto's Disease. You can read about it here:
He said it runs high in families and wonders if it is what my mom and sister have. Who knows? Sometimes the thyroid shrinks, sometimes it swells. Almost always causes underactive thyroid though. Interesting... so my point is, chances are really good that I'll make it to my 26th birthday at least. :)
And then I got a cavity.
And then I went to the ER at 3am for puking, backpain, and the worse indigestion in the world. THey fixed me up and sent me home. I was like a dog with my tail between my legs in shame. I ate really bad that day. Pizza, onion rings, chicken tenders, hot dog... who knew eating that in 24 hours could make you feel so bad? haha. OK, I should have known, but I PROMISE I don't ever eat like that! I promised my intestinal mucosae I would never do that to it ever again. I am a bad girl!!!
I think my 25th year is getting better though. I got a new computer.

An Apple A Day Keeps The Doctor Away

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

Unless your my dad and have Whetten genes... but I think he just likes the attention. :)
Next Tuesday the 24th my dad is having major bowel reconstruction surgery and will be in the hospital for about a week. Keep him in your prayers, we'd like to make sure he recovers quickly! At least THIS time we are prepared for a hospital stay!

Hey ya guys!!!

2011-05-17T20:30:00.000-07:00

It's been a long time, eh? That's what happens when your COMPUTER BREAKS DOWN!!! I can't wait to get a new computer sometime in the next couple of months so I can start doing all that time wasting facebooking, recipe finding and blogging stuff that I love to do so much. It's been lonely without a computer. Thanks Daddy for letting me use yours! It's been a wild past three months or so! Here's some updates.

Cinco de Mayo Chihuahua Races

2011-05-17T20:20:00.000-07:00

Melissa put Mr. Bono the Security officer in the Chandler Cinco de Mayo Chihuahua race this year. It was really funny. He totally could have won, except he didn't want to run between the gates. Oh well. He's still cute.
I totally saw him checking these chicas out...

Don't mess

Really Bono? REALLY???

La Madre, abuelita Whetten, y Tia Brittany de Mr. Bono.

While it was fun to watch the race, it was so stinkin hot and not worth doing it ever again!!!

Yellow Watermelon Anyone?

2011-05-17T20:11:00.000-07:00

I asked the grocery boy to pick me the best watermelon there was at Superstition Ranch Market and I came home to cut it up and BAM!!! It was yellow. I was alone in my kitchen but I still had to look around to see if there were any cameras. I thought I was on a reality joke show. And then??? I took a bite!!! And it was THEEEEE most delicious watermelon I had ever tasted!!! I made some fruit dip and ate it up in just a few days. Yum Yum!!!

Bumper Cars

2011-05-17T19:58:00.000-07:00

I was sitting in my apartment on the second floor studying around 1030pm when I heard this loud crash in the parking lot. I ran out just in time to see this girl drive off into the night (along with hearing a few other crashes in the distance). And then I looked at my car. NOOOOOOOOO!!! So I called 911 and told them what happened and I was SO MAD!!! My neighbors saw the same thing and knew who it was. After some time I hung up and went back upstairs and not even 15 minutes later, the car pulls up into her parking spot. I called the cops again and told them the culprit was back. And she was soooo drunk. The cops came in a flash. I got her information for insurance purposes and asked her why she hit my car and she replied "I didn't hit my car, I already had all those marks." Ya right. The officer talked to her, tested her, and arrested her. A little while later her car got towed and it hasn't been back since... and it's been at least 2 months. Thankfully her insurance covered it all and I've got my Lola back. Too bad I didn't park backwards sos he could hit my front bumper cause that's got a massive dent in it from forever ago when a cat ran in front of me while I was going 45 down Lindsay. My bad.
Her car (and no, those are NEW dents thank you very much)...

The culprit...

My poor Lola...

She's all better now!

Grad Night

2011-05-17T19:44:00.000-07:00

Here are all the non-blurry pictures that were taken of my graduation. Somehow, Brady didn't make it into ANY of my pictures, even the blurry ones! Sorry babe! I still love you! ;) I was suuuppperrrrr happy that night. I was lucky enough to have my parents, grams, and every one of my siblings there and most of their spouses, even Melissa who drove up from Tucson. I'm such a lucky girl to have such a loving family. After graduation, we headed to Neilsons frozen yogurt for some delicousness. And it WAS delicious! I was more excited about this graduation than I was my ASU graduation (but that was fun because I got to sit with Cathy the whole time).

Since I passed NCLEX...

2011-04-13T05:10:00.000-07:00

I've slept incessently, my car got MAJORLY backed into by a drunk driver (who denied it although I watched her do it in front of my apartment, LIAR), went a week with a stupid rented Kia Soul (nerd alert), sold the truck, bought Candice's Altima, lived 3 days with only 1 car (how do people live?), read 1/2 a book (and it's wonderful... The Red Tent by Anita Diamant... thanks Savannah Kleinlein!), read 1/2 of another book that I still had to finish, cleaned and organized like crazy, did quite a bit of shopping, organized my financial folder, took out all my pictures from my picture books and put them in these ADORABLE suitcases I bought (I got it at Ross), went through some year books (Mrs. Jennings in 7th grade wrote "don't worry so much"... what does that even mean?), did some good speculation about the future of the world with Brooke, started running again (little by little), got some new furniture from skanky hoe girl next door who randomly dropped out of Naturopathic Med School to move to Hawaii to write a book about becoming one with the universe (thanks for the furniture, psycho crackhead!), watched my computer die a slow death from a stupid computer virus (I hope I don't lose all my pictures, dangit, I hate not having internet at home), watched a few more episodes of my favorite show Scrubs (the "new" Scrubs sucks majorly though), stopped by and visited some friends, celebrated mine and Brady's 1st Anniversary (I love you sweetheart with all the mushiness in my heart), planned out the rest of my life (aka no plans), and basked in the glory of my tiny little apartment that needs a carpet cleaning STAT (brady???).
It's all been so wonderful. I love life. I don't think it could get any better.

It's MYYYY Season!!!

2011-03-18T03:09:00.000-07:00

I graduated. I partied with mi familia at Neilson's Frozen Custard. I ate lots of fries and hamburgers last week, and I spent my first 3 days in a row AT HOME with Brady with no work, books, NADA, just laying by the pool. SPLENDID!!! Then... I got the job offer I've been waiting forever for as a Pediatric Oncology nurse. This is exactly what I have been waiting for. Life couldn't get better. Well, if I won the lottery maybe that could have made it better. And lost some weight, that would be great. (hey I rhymed). But seriously. It's times like these that I just like to take a moment and sit, smile and take it all in. I am very happy.
*However, even with all the laying out, I am still very white because I literally LATHER on the sunscreen. I guilted Brady into wearing sunscreen too by telling him our children would be fatherless and I would end up having to fend for myself and our future children due to his vanity. I won. He doesn't have much of a tan, but for not getting much sun, he still makes me look bright white. (Ya big Jerk, I still love you though.)
So, if all's yall's wantin to catch some rays, hit this girl up. My swimsuits are out, ready to go!
P.S. while feeding a baby tonight, I was watching the first episode of Hannah Montana. I remember now how much I love that show.

The Gift Of Fear

2011-03-13T10:30:00.000-07:00

A Scottsdale police officer friend of ours, Dan, encouraged Brady and I to read this book, The Gift of Fear: Survival Signals That Protect Us From Violence. Brady had been reading it for quite some time while I was making dinner when he looked up and asked, "when was the last time you felt threatened, or cautious of somebody, even just a little bit?" I replied "yesterday". He was astounded.
Brady: "How often do you get that feeling?"
Me: "On a regular basis, maybe a few times a week."
The book tells the reader to ask a woman the last time she felt threatened, and then to ask a man the last time he felt threatened. The woman will most likely state that it has been within a week and then man will most likely not state within the past year. Brady couldn't think of the last time he felt threatened, but that he usually sizes guys up who he thinks might need a beating. I would venture to say this is probably true of most men as well.
"It is understandable that the perspectives of men and women on safety are so different-- men and women live in different worlds".
Also kind of profound, "At core, men are afraid women will laugh at them, while at core, women are afraid men will kill them." (I know this might sound strongly worded, but I think of it as a very generalized idea, and it's true).
Women are taught to be polite, warm, and friendly to people, no matter who they are. This is also what gets women in trouble. Your intuition knows you better than you know yourself, so pay attention to it and do what it tells you to do. 1- it is always in response to something even if you don't now what it is, and 2- it always has your best interest at heart.
I know a bad apple when I walk by one. Yesterday I barely had one foot in the door at Wal-Mart when this nasty 50-ish year old, toothless thing walked past me and whistled. I looked back as I was pulling off my sunglasses and with a grossed out face I said "ewe!" and kept walking.
A few months ago, I went on a walk around my neighborhood and was talking to a friend on my cell phone. As I entered the apartment parking lot, this ghetto-fabulous car pulled up beside me with two ghetto-fabulous men inside with their windows rolled down. I ignored the first cat call, then 5 seconds later when they stopped in front of me and cat called again, I waved for them to move on and told them "ya, I heard you the first time! Move on!!!" (Then of course I thought oh no, they're going to kill me for being rude to them, but I didn't care. Better than being passive and ignoring them if you ask me).
Brady told me yesterday that he's not worried about me ever getting attacked by a man. He told me I'm too harsh to them. I corrected him and told him I'm only harsh to the ones who are asking for it.

"The Next Step"

2011-03-09T03:18:00.000-08:00

(this is not a rant, it's merely an interesting thought... ok maybe it's a rant.)
Last night I had a hot date with a good friend at Wendy's. During random conversation/chit-chat about life, she said something brilliant that I guess I never really thought about. She said something to the effect of "people are never content with where you are in life." (and no, this was not a response to any venting done by me, it really had nothing to do with me).
Example: The minute you graduate high school, you start dating a twenty-some-odd year old RM and after the first week you hear "you think you might marry him?" And then by the time you get engaged someone asks "so when are you going to start having kids?" And then you respond with something about "taking time" and they look at you like the world is ending, which in turn, makes me ask myself "Did I say something wrong?". Like there is this specific time frame for happiness? Am I crazy???(don't answer that).
Let me remind the world, once again, this is not a rant. Everyone has the same pressures of "meeting life's expectations", expectations that are really, truly, most definitely all... in... our... heads.
Who cares what others think.
If you are doing what you know you should be doing, then what is there to worry about?

Lehi Days

2011-03-05T16:54:00.000-08:00

Today we met Briley, Scott, Cathy and Ben at Lehi Days. It was fun this year, there was a ton of people. It took me back to the day I went to it about 7 years ago, bought a baby chicken, and a few days later when I came home with chicken wire to make a coupe, I found it floating in my swimming pool. Nobody told me chickens couldn't swim.

Overall, it was a beautiful day!

Randomzzzzz

2011-03-05T11:15:00.000-08:00

We went to Utah (a couple times since New Years) and our last time we went over the new bridge at Hoover Dam. It was really fast and we avoided most of the snow (I freaked out in Cedar City because of the icey roads!)
We got a nice tour of the strip in Vegas.

BRILEY!!! It's CELINE!!! She just started her 3 year tour in Vegas. I'm DETERMINED to go see her. I idolize Celine.

Look Ma! It's The Thunder Down Under! I know you always wanted to see them, and they are still there, so let me know when you wanna go and we'll hit it up! ;) jk

Not a fan of soda, but this slushed Mountain Diew that was left in my car overnight in Provo was delish!

Yes, I did eat icicles all day long.

Hiking Camelback... I gotta really get into hiking, it's such a good workout and it's beautiful.

This evil neighborhood cat is responsible for 2 out of 3 of my plants not growing. I kept walking out my door to find this little brat sleeping in my pots! RUDE!!! I don't mind cats, but this one drives me CRAAAAZY!!!

Christmas Lights at the Temple. I love my jacket. I wish you could see it better. :)

As Of Late

2011-02-27T00:57:00.000-08:00

February 2nd will go down in infamy. After WEEKS of hitting the books (and hitting my head against the wall), I PASSED block 4 of nursing school. I had a "mild" nervous breakdown in front of Brady the night before(I'm not sure who hated nursing school more because of the out of the blue breakdowns, me or him)... then woke up at 4 to "review" all the information at school. I counted the number of "educated guesses" I made on the test and it was exactly the number of points I could miss on the test before I failed the entire class. That was not reassuring. I got home around 12 and then left to go to work at 1 (I purposely scheduled myself to work that afternoon to keep my mind off of it). When I left for work, Brady kissed me goodbye and told me he loved me at my cardoor, but I just started crying... again. You can imagine how RELIEVED I was when I looked online for my grade and saw that I passed! (And yes, I did shed a couple of tears at that time too but they were happy tears). I literally feel so much lighter and more like myself now that I have classes put behind me! It's not over yet though, I still have a week long review class, then when I find out when I take my boards (and pass them) I will be even happier. I have applied for a promotion of sorts to the unit I work on now so we'll see how that goes. I'm not too worried about it, but I'm not going to get my hopes up quite yet. Once I start orienting as an RN, it's more paperwork, classes and training, etc. But at least I'll be getting paid for it! No more free labor!!!
So March 10th is graduation, the most exciting time of the year (for me).
So since I feel like I've won the Golden Globes I would like to give a few shout outs to some peeps who made my success possible. I'd like to thank Brady for supporting me and doing his best to console me during my crying spells, my mom and dad for always believing in me, all the Hershey's chocolate that I've had stored in my freezer for always being one bite full away, and my study partner Elaine for baking all those cookies during our study sessions and introducing me to Fresh n Easy Greek frozen pizza. You all rock my world and I couldn't have done it without you.
Now let's pray this whole working nights thing doesn't drive me crazy because HOT DAMN I'M BORED!!! :)
love to all,
britt

When It's Dark Enough You Can See The Stars

2011-01-18T19:52:00.000-08:00

Unless you have a cloud following you wherever you walk as well. I'm in that "season" of finding it hard to find the good things in life lately.
But even though I may be a negative Nancy for the time being, I do have a lot to be grateful for this month. I'm thankful that Brady knows how to make me smile, even if I refuse to show my teeth. Thankful for good friends who know just what I need to feel better and understand me more than I can imagine. Thankful for family that's got your back even if your not "totally right" (my motto: I'm never wrong, I'm just not always right). And most of all grateful for my Heavenly Father who seems to hide from me most of the time, but has never failed to give me the comfort I need.

My Advice To Rihanna and A Proud Moment in My Life

2010-12-04T17:56:00.000-08:00

Let's face it, this girl is gorgeous. At least I think so. But her music is TERRIBLE!!! What is with that terrible MnM song "I like the way it hurts" crap, honestly. It IS catchy, but seroiusly? She sounds like a dying cat.

But don't you LOVE her hair? I am very proud to admit however, that I don't want to cut mine though. I think I have finally gotten past the dreadful shoulder length do. And I love it! Someday maybe in a few years I'll go back though.
But seriously honey, I think you should stick to modeling.

Summary of my recent life

2010-12-04T07:33:00.000-08:00

I look like I'm giving this dummy a blessing and Elaine is out of control. Don't let this picture fool you though! I saved two dummy's (plastic dummys) lives last week in our "simulation lab".

My clinical group in the cafeteria at Good Sam. Best hospital ever. I would LOVE to work there (and their food is delicous).

Elaine is my study partner (which I am 5 minutes late to for our study group!)

Brady and I at the Christmas lights.

And these pictures were before church last week.

The end.

Comfy pajamas and an scary model

2010-11-18T20:35:00.000-08:00

I told Brady to take this picture so I could show off my wonderful new pajamas... and turns out instead of being a hot model, I'm an ugly deformed-faced, long legged giant. My tree is small, but it looks really mini sized and I look like I would hit my head on the front door. I just thought it was so funny.

But I have to say, I think I have found perfection in pajamas. And they were only 14 bucks! It's so pathetic that I'm blogging about pajamas.

La La La La La...

2010-11-07T12:15:00.001-08:00

I've been so lost after forgetting what I changed my blogger password to! But now that I have it... I have nothing interesting to say. Except I did do the best on my first exam than pretty much everybody else in my class and that has NEVER happened, so I'm soaking it up because I'm sure that was a total fluke. I'm limiting my "rubbing it in your face though" becuase in a couple of weeks I'll be back to where I usually am at the bottom of the totem pole when it comes to grades.
Oh! And Brady got a job as a hospital security officer. I'm so excited for him... and me. ;) It's nice having money in 'da bank!
And I'm so sad because I've realized that since Brady and I have been married, we have hardly taken ANY pictures of ourselves or anything that we've been doing (which is really nothing so I guess that's why). I'm just a boring old woman who's getting older and older everyday. I'm so tired and it's only 1 in the afternoon. I'm done with work, I think I'm going to quite everything and be a bum. Am I rambling?

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

2010-10-17T10:25:00.000-07:00

From my pumpkin patch to yours.

I PASSED!!!

2010-10-14T17:10:00.000-07:00

After the worst semester I have ever had to endure, this was by far the most emotional and stressful semester. But I am proud to announce, I have officially passed the most difficult block (or so I've been told). So we'll see what block 4 brings, and then I'M DONE in March! Wooo! Feels SO GOOD to be on the final downhill slope!

2010-09-29T19:58:00.001-07:00

http://www.azcentral.com/community/ahwatukee/articles/2010/09/15/20100915ahwatukee-boy-rare-cancer.html?ref=nf

Best Family Ever!!!

2010-09-29T19:53:00.000-07:00

Hippy Chick

2010-09-20T10:48:00.000-07:00

I shouldn't be so impulsive. I need to be patient. Yesterday at church I was playing with my hair, finding all sorts of awful split ends and frizziness and yearning for today to get it cut. Well, my lovely hairstylist, Briley Brown, and I have COMPLETELY opposite schedules, and she is also planning a wedding and working full time, so asking her is out of the question. She knows I'm a spur of the moment girl, and when I want my hair cut, I want my hair cut now! So, I decided to head over to the nearest hair-do place (I used to go all the time, and never had a bad experience). I picked out a picture of a hair cut that I liked, and it turned out like this.

My initial reaction was "Way too short" And "I'm a friggin hippy!" I should have just gotten a trim!!!

But then I talked myself through it and realized I really just don't like it because I actually have to have it curled because of the amount of layers that are in it. I actually have to do my hair everyday. Let's face it, I don't curl my hair.

I need my Briley back. You were so good to me and you didn't chop my hair unless I told you to. And you also didn't let me do things like this.
Everything is going to be okay. It's just hair.

Financial Planning

2010-09-14T20:30:00.000-07:00

ok, i really did try to upload a larger photo of pennies... but the size of these just made me laugh so I decided to keep them up. I tried uploading a few larger ones, but they were just all so small! haha
If you are interested in learning about how to save all of your pretty little pennies, I have the man for you. My cousin Clint Whetten works for a company called Primerica... you may have heard about them. I asked him a couple of years ago when he started working with them to teach me a few things about money management such as getting out of debt, saving for retirement, being prepared for an emergency and even things like life insurance policies for when I start having kids, etc. He sat down with me for a couple of hours and even helped me set up a couple of savings accounts. He didn't try to sell me on anything, he just sat me down and literally just taught me the major things I need to know, how money works and how to be prepared for whatever might lie ahead. He helped me set up a small emergency savings account and a meager little Roth IRA that I put just a little bit of money into each month (meager=really meager, like $25). At some point I will be able to increase the amounts I put into them, but for now, it's nice to know that I have that little back up plan if I ever need it. My favorite part though, is that he is like my own personal Oprah Winfrey "tell it like it is" financial advisor that has the guts to tell me that I could probably clean up my spending habits. He helped me realize that I can't just go buy things that I probably shouldn't... even if it's as easy as just whipping out that pretty little credit card that I love. I can't even begin to tell you how glad I am that I had that money this past year.
Just today, I opened up a credit card statement with a pretty little suprise that no good client should receive. Luckily, I was able to call him up for some advice on how to get out of this random (and ridiculously large) fee and what I wanted to do to solve the problem and how it might affect my credit, etc. He gave me some good advice... which I plan on using tomorrow at exactly 8am.
So whether you are seriously pinching your pennies like everybody else out there, or are so well off you could buy somebody a car (me first please... and I would like a shiny black Audi), money management is for you and Clint would love to help you find your way to financial freedom. If you are interested, simply let me know and I can get you his contact info!

2010-09-09T21:26:00.000-07:00

Someday I'm going to save an old hutch, paint it and sand it down. Then I'm going to put pots of flowers and put cute stuff on it. I'm ready to do it right now. Do you have one I can have?

Shout Out to my Number One

2010-09-08T01:45:00.000-07:00

I'm not one to be cheesy and goo-goo-gah-gah over my man, but I'm going to make a special shout out to Brady, because he rocks my world. I'll admit, half of the time I'm with my friends and I say "I'm tired and I wanna go home," I'm really saying "I wanna be home with Brady". Brady is everything I could want and more. He's tall, attractive, smart, (he can tell you what the dewpoint average will be any given day), he looks so good after a hard workout, and the list could go on and on. He especially likes to smother and kiss me after he works out and tries to get me to admit that I like it. Truth is, I don't like. He gets me all sweaty and dirty when I should be nice and clean, but I still love the fact that he does it and it always makes me smile. I've never met anyone so compassionate, so caring, and so understanding as Brady is. Men like him are one in a million. Love you babe.

PHOTOS PHOTOS PHOTOS!!!

2010-09-08T01:29:00.000-07:00

My very wonderful, talented, and beautiful Tiffany Haynes did our wedding photos... and my graduation photos... and WILL DO OUR FUTURE CHILDREN'S photos... because she's that great! Check out her website here and maybe enter to win an AWESOME deal on your next photo session. She does everything from weddings, babies, family, engagement, etc. Whatever you want, she'll probably do. I highly recommend her, and will CONTINUE to recommend her... because she basically ROCKS.

Dback game

2010-09-07T15:48:00.000-07:00

Melissa got us all free tickets through her work so nearly all my entire family went on Labor Day. It was a lot of fun, but MAN what a worthless game! It was 0-0 until the 9th inning and it was such a drag! So we ended up leaving after the 9th inning because at that rate, it was probably going to go on forever. By the time we reached our cars though, SF Giants won 2-0.
Here's just some of the pictures we took while "passing the time" haha.

Oh, the MCC library

2010-09-01T19:42:00.000-07:00

I seriously love the MCC library. It is so clean, spacious, the computers are SO FAST, and it SMELLS good in here. I came here with Brady to do some homework while he worked on the computers as well, and obviously, I have better things to do... like blog about college libraries. I do have Gecko pride, and it has a lot to offer, but the people here really do smell so much better. I guess I can't blame the people, but let me just tell you, the students at Gateway don't shower. They really don't. They're Somalian or Indian, or whatever they are. It's a religious thing, and they eat a lot of curry. And they smell, like it literally seeps through their pores. This is Brady and while Brittany was away i just wanted to say hi...and that she is mean, for speaking about the people at her school in such a way. Back to Brittany, I'm not the one forcing people to smell my B-O, who's the mean one now, huh? :) That's all I have to say. I love and miss you MCC library.

It's a million degrees outside and I'm cooking hot stew

2010-08-26T21:07:00.000-07:00

I finally went grocery shopping and bought some really good produce (a first for our local wal-mart) and decided to throw a bunch of random stuff together to make a stew. It was delicious. And waayyy too easy.

2010-08-26T20:30:00.000-07:00

This picture was taken almost one year ago when Brady and I first started dating. My hair was about this length last December when Briley bet me (rudely, I might add) that I would never be able to grow my hair out because I was addicted to hair cuts. Oh girrrl you did NOT!!! But I did. And I'm still doing it. And I'm still figuring out if I like it or not... but I am saving a lot of money!

Who's hand is that? Caaaathy???

I know what you're thinking "couldn't you have taken a better picture of yourself?" But I was bored, and just took a shower. Hey, at least my hair is clean in this picture.

HOW D'YA LIKE ME NOW BRILEY BROWN!!!

Getting Into Shape

2010-08-03T21:31:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I am starting to post on my work out blog again. I don't want the world seeing the awesome pictures I post but just email me and I'll invite you to it if you want.
I started it a while ago just to get into shape, but now I am actually using it to motivate me to LOSE WEIGHT! UGH!!! How do people lose weight??? I don't have the patience. I never really felt like I ever needed to lose weight, but I am starting to have difficulty fitting into my "fat" jeans, so that's a bad sign. But changing the way I eat and getting a little bit of exercise each day is my main focus. My goal is to lose 10 lbs and then to just continue healthy diet and exercise. My mind is just so overwhelmed and bogged down with stress and my to-do list that it is hard to focus and enjoy being healthy (hence my love of emotional eating and couch-sitting). So this is it! I'm going to lose weight, K? Who's with me!

Thoughts of Late

2010-07-26T19:39:00.000-07:00

As I was drying my hair today, this thought came to me randomly. It wasn't anything big or inspiring, but for some reason I kept thinking it and it really made me happy. I was thinking about feelings, specifically sadness and other negative feelings. I thought about why people get sad or down, and I thought about what feelings really are. You'r feelings are all in your head. They aren't tangible, they don't last forever and you are usually the only one who is aware of them (unless you're bad at hiding them). While at the same time they are so real and can drive you absolutely CRAZY! For instance, in school, test days are awful. I remember Briley calling me while I was sitting in Microbiology (this phone call came once every two weeks) and just being absolutely hysterical about how she "probably failed" her test. Not only did she think she just failed that test but EVERYBODY in her class thought they failed it as well. Now, here I am, knowing that she couldn't have gotten below a C and there's absolutely no reason for the panic attack, trying to calm her down. In the end, she passed, with plenty of points to spare.
Now, this example is only because I'm EXPERIENCING IT!!! AAAHHH!!!! I'm going to die!!!!
Ok, not really. But during Block 1? I really thought my life was over. It was an awful experience. I really would cry every few days to begin with and I seriously hated school. I got so emotionally sucked in to the nursing school anxiety attacks that everyone who was sitting in the same room as you was having. Finally after probably our second test, I realized it was so unecessary. Luckily, I realized it was all in my head early on and quickly put my "realistic" cap back on. I knew I wasn't the best student, I consistently got more questions wrong on tests each time, and I have, on more than one occasion, been called out by co-students for asking them too many questions because I wasn't paying attention (it's overrated anyway...). But guess what? I'm okay with all that because life is so much better when I'm not being so hard on myself! So, instead I made a decision early on to not think poorly of myself, or my inability to pay attention half the time, or the fact that I got more questions wrong than Ms. Awesome-Nurse next to me, or that I don't have a buddy-buddy relationship with my teacher like some others do. But guess what? I'm passing.
So, my conclusion is that life is much more pleasant when you don't let life get to you. It's as easy as that! Really, it's all in your head! That's not to say it's not real, because pain hurts (no pun intended), but it doesn't have to last long! Don't ever let it take over your life!
There was a time when I also thought to myself "why me, why now, how come this person has that, why can't I be like so and so, why did I make that mistake, I'm such an awful person..." etc. Oh, and it was miserable. So I decided to snap out of it and be happy. It was all in my head, and I really doubt that anybody else thought negative of me like that.
There are seasons in everyones life and nobody is alone in that. You've always got friends and family who would do anything for you. I really do believe that everyone in this world is doing their best in life, even though many people don't seem like they are.
So be happy. Be strong. Keep your chin up because people want to see your smile. Snap out of your drag. For heaven's sake, BREATH! Because guess what? Life's a challenge. But everything is going to be okay... everything is always okay.

2010-07-11T22:15:00.000-07:00

A BIG BIG BIG thanks to TIFFANY HAYNES for doing our wedding photography. This is a sneak peak, as I am grumpy (school in the morn), tired (it's only 1030 and I am fighting the pathetic sleep) and I need computer help. I'll post more this week.

Adventures to Yellowstone

2010-07-10T09:39:00.000-07:00

This was seriously the best tasting natural spring water I had ever had.

Some of Brady's cousins were at the cabin for a couple of days with us

The little baby? He chased me. As I was taking pictures standing next to Brady in front of the cabin, the baby charged at me. It was the fastest run for my life I had ever taken. I turned around when I reached the stairs to the cabin to see Brady laughing at me, still standing where we were standing. Apparently the baby was just "practicing" and only took about 3 steps, but Brady thought it was entertaining to hear me scream and run. Not cool Brady. Not cool. :)

While he enjoyed fishing in the river by our cabin...

I got my FIRST mosquito bite (at least that I can ever remember). You can't quite see it but it's on my second to last toe, just a slight bump. It hurt :(

I took some pointless pictures...

Took some pictures of the heavens giving me the finger...

Took some pretty pictures...

And took some more pointless pictures...

I read a book...

And carved out initials into the dock.

While at the top of Provo Mountain trying to take pictures of this beautiful valley and enjoy this beautiful sunset...

We got annihilated by a small dust storm that kicked SOMETHING in the air to cause this...

And this...

It didn't look TOO bad, but it was one of the itchiest, blinding, and uncomfortable allergic reactions I had ever had. (I actually don't think I had ever really had an allergic reaction come to think of it...)

Shout out to Whitney (this is a place in West Yellostone)

And this shout out to Briley was in a Pizza and Soda shop in Ashton, Idaho. Alecia's husband Mike used to call her this...

Last but not least, a shoutout to Brooke. I think she might be the only one who gets it.

I couldn't get a picture of my shoutout to Tiffany in time. There was a small mountain called Mt. Haynes and it even had a sign and everything but I didn't get my camera out in time before we drove by it.

We had such a nice time up there and it was bittersweet leaving. We had such a nice time but we were so drained and wanted to go home so bad that we were really excited to make it home. It was the perfect amount of time even though I still have yet to recover from it! I don't want to start back up in school Monday. :(

Of Course

2010-06-17T20:18:00.000-07:00

In the middle of May I got an email from one of the nursing administrators stating that I needed to get a new fingerprint clearance card because it expires early August or September. A week later, I sent my application in. Last week, I get another email stating "You must have your new fingerprint clearance card in hand and turned in by July 12th 2010 in order to be enrolled in Block 3 Nursing Program."
Uuhhhhhhh
Yesterday I called to get an update on when it will be sent to me. The lady said "we have received it but it still has yet to be reviewed. Expect 6-8 more weeks."
I've been shooting emails to and from various administrators, freaking out because they all keep saying that "it has to be in by July 12th". I don't get it. My other card doesn't even expire until at least August! I'm freaking out. Everything will be okay, everything will be okay, everything will be okay. It will! I'll get it, even if it means I have to show my mean side. And nobody wants to see my mean side. Promise. :)
So please say a little prayer that nobody gets hurt in the process.

It's my birthday, we gonna party like it's my birthday

2010-06-09T21:19:00.000-07:00

I have the greatest friends EVER! Life just wouldn't be the same without 'em. Last night we ate dinner at Oreganos (had to have my tantalizing PAZOOKI and VEGGIE WEDGIE), then spent the rest of the night at Brooke's with everybody chatting, reminiscing, story telling, and looking at old pictures until 1 in the morning. I didn't get home until 2 and was up at 5 for clinicals. Bad idea, but totally worth it! However, I don't think I'll stay up that late again for AT LEAST another 8 months when I don't have to wake up so early. I've been telling a lot of dumb jokes and laughing at the dumbest things because I'm tired and slap happy. And for that, Brady has banned me from not getting a full nights rest. Ok, not really but he's probably wishing he could ban me from it. I had a wonderful night, let's do it again soon. And Alecia? You still owe me a present. :)

Camping, Memorial Day, and my BIRTHDAAY!!!

2010-06-01T17:30:00.000-07:00

Sunday night Brady, Brooke, David and I headed up to Payson to go camping overnight. Brady went to town with his axe and chopped down a tree (such a MAN!), enjoyed a beautiful campfire until it was time for bed (obviously... I was the first to crash), made some delicious campfire dinners, and ate all the junkfood we could get (I woke up the next morning totally bloated... I don't recommend it). I love camping. And even more, I love our AWESOME TENT we got from Joe and Allison! It's so big! Then Brooke suprised me at 12:01 with a single candle and they all sang happy birthday to me. teehee. I love birthdays. They're so fun. Brady had been waiting all week for the mail to come with my gift but it never showed up! Even worse, the charge in his bank account wasn't even there anymore! He was so mad. He got me Insanity. It's like P90X... but it's INSANE!!! I was looking forward to it, but a little iffy because it's INSANE, and our apartment is upstairs. Oh well. When the apartments-a-rockin, don't come-a-knockin!

2010-06-01T17:13:00.000-07:00

Every first Friday of the month the Arizona Science Center has adult night for free. Cathy, Ben, Briley, Scott, Brady and I met each other there and partied all night long. Ok, only until like 1030, but still, that's all night long for me! Afterward we went to Bahama Bucks and had dessert. Did you know Bahama Bucks has those spoons that change color with temperature? I loved it when I got those as the prize in my cinnamon toast crunch when I was younger.

(and here you can baaaarely see Briley and Scott up towards the street light. They really were there although I don't have any photos to prove it other than this one).

2010-05-31T15:21:00.000-07:00

Brady and I love our new apartment. It's a simple one bedroom but it's just enough room for us! The place was in the "process" of being cleaned when I decided to take these pictures. But you get the jist. The picture with my backpack in the middle of the room is just part of the standard decor... same with the computer sitting on top of a "cheese preserver" box (I'm glad we could use that gift in some way...)

Honeymoon

2010-04-22T20:19:00.000-07:00

Brady and I went on our Honeymoon the weekend after our wedding to the Grand Canyon and Flagstaff. We stayed in a hotel in Flagstaff Friday night then spent all day Saturday driving up to the Grand Canyon (first time for me!) and making a bunch of pit stops along the way. It was a bummer it only lasted for the weekend, but someday we'll be able to do something more than two days. However, Brady knows me too well I think because I absolutely loved the site seeing! There is so much to see in Arizona, I had no idea! The weather was perfect and it was so relaxed... it was exactly what I needed.
The pictures are a bit jumbled but I'll just give a brief overview of what we did. On our way to the Grand Canyon we almost drove by the Town of Bedrock (can you believe we really could have missed that?). Worst ten bucks we'd ever spent. However, it was really funny. We were the only ones in the big ol' "amusement" park. All you can watch cartoon theater (the pic of us kissing even though you really can't see the video), Flintstone's home, Rubble's home, a giant brachiasaurus slide, some creepy retarded volcano that made a really loud "rawr" when you walk in and a police station. Nuff said. We found our own ways to entertain ourselves in this creepy little town.
The Grand Canyon was amazing! I can't believe how HUGE that place is! Someday I'll go hike it.
There's a picture of an indian ruin behind me as I am reading a book (not a planned
picture). It's crazy how smart the indians that lived there were. There is a hole in the ground that blows out really cool air that I'm sure felt really good for those people when it's really hot. It was kind of scary standing over the hole though, I was scared I would fall in or something.
Montezuma's castle is the ruin that is up in the mountain. Brilliant people!

Overall, a wonderful and relaxing trip. Too bad it couldn't last any longer, but we'll go again. Now we're back to work and school and real life. Such a bummer! Hope all is well and enjoying life! Thanks for all the help with the wedding, it turned out so beautiful and I loved it!

FOR THE RECORD

2010-03-10T22:10:00.001-08:00

No, I am not pregnant. Either Brady is playing an awful joke on me, or somebody hacked into my Target Club Wed account and added a bunch of baby presents... all of which have been "FULFILLED". I'm not sure whether I think this is really funny or if I am embarassed... I'm leaning more towards the 'this is funny' side... but I seriously have NO idea what happened. Now, if this is a prank on someone else's part, they did a pretty darn good job. So, I don't want to take them off my registry since they are all "fulfilled" then I won't be able to return them! OK, now I'm laughing pretty hard. This is good. This means payback once I find out who did it.

Someone Toss Me A Cold One

2010-02-03T16:35:00.000-08:00

It's been one of those weeks. Ok, three weeks to be exact. And I'm not sure when it'll get back to normal. No one, not even Briley, could have prepared me for how awful school is. Briley warned me, but it didn't get through. I hate it. I despise it. It even made me show my landlord my "angry face" (but he didn't care, friggin moron). There's some days that I like it. The only reason I am making it through is because I've wanted it for so long. But I hate it. A lot. This week.

A Lot of Gratitude

2010-01-29T22:11:00.000-08:00

I have been overwhelmed this week by the kind acts of others. Although it has been a non-stop on-the-go past week with school, studying, work, and apartment finding, and wedding planning, it has by far been one of the best weeks I've had in a long time. Heavenly Father really knows what I am in need of and he has sent a lot of people into my life to help me out. You know who you are. Some small, others very big, each one meaning so much to me, especially this week.
Two people in particular offered to do something very big for me and both said "just do something nice for somebody else". Well, the next day (today) I walked across the street to Filiberto's for lunch and bought a bean burrito. As I sat outside at the table eating, up walks this guy, staring at me and making me nervous. He didn't quite look homeless, but he didn't look like he had too much money on him. I carefully set my wallet that was sitting on the counter on my lap and as far under the table as possible so he wouldn't snatch it. Totally stereotyping. It was a fight or flight moment. I quickly took my last bite, picked up my trash and stood up to throw it away when I looked at him and politely smiled because I could feel his eyes on me and I had to look in his direction. He asked if I had any money to spare so he could eat and I told him "I won't give you any money but I will buy you something if you are hungry" and he said "Are you serious?". I wasn't expecting the look on his face when I asked him what he wanted. He really was in shock. I told him I would order it and tell them that he could come pick it up. After I ordered it, I walked back to him and told him they knew that he would pick it up. I can't even tell you the expression on his face was like he was in disbelief. He said "That was incredibly nice of you. God bless you, really."
I walked back to work with a few tears streaming down my face. It was only about $4.50, but it meant so much more than that today. I am indebted to a lot of people for their example to me. It has really helped me out much more than I think they will ever know.

Ready, Set, GROW!!!

2010-01-10T08:25:00.000-08:00

Remember this hair?

I'm getting it back! I went almost 3 1/2 months without cutting my hair (mostly due to a lack of "funds") and Briley was so impressed with me (note sarcasm here), for not cutting it once a month that she challenged me to grow it out again. I'm taking her up on that challenge, even though I am in love with this hair...

The picture below was taken sometime in October when my hair began to grow out. It is about the same length in the front as it was on October because I really have just been growing the back of it out since the back was cut very A-line. Therefore, I will consider this picture my January picture.
I'm very excited, but I also understand the long road I have ahead. I know there will be days when I am weak and feeble, but Briley and Brady (and Scott for that matter) will be there to coach and encourage me. To show me that I CAN go on. They need to be strong. Be strong... for me, friends.

2010-01-07T09:08:00.000-08:00

I always tease Brady about how wonderful it is to be marrying Ryan Gossling:

And then one day he says "so I was watching tv and I saw your TOTAL LOOK-A-LIKE!". So non-matter-of-factly, I say "Mandy Moore?" (because I always get her)

No. "Oh, okay, then Julia Stiles" (because I always get her too).

No. "Okay... well that's wierd... I have been told that I look like lisa Marie Pressley, but that was just once..."

"NO!!! YOU LOOK EXACTLY LIKE ALICIA KEYS!!!"

"But Brady, I'm white...?"
"Ya ya, but you're like a white Alicia Keys!"

That's a first. But I'm not disappointed!

"Brittany, I'm so glad I'm not you"

2010-01-07T08:33:00.000-08:00

This is what I hear on a daily basis from everyone I work with.
Since we've moved to the new hospital, I've been hearing stories of the secretaries on the new units (specifically the more intense units like PICU) get up and leave the unit to start crying. Could it really be that bad? I mean, on my unit, it gets crazy, don't get me wrong. And being the secretary most of the days I work, I can see how one would want to get up and leave to catch their breath. Doctors, nurses, Social Workers all in your face "page this doctor", "page this social worker", "you put this order in wrong", bells ringing everywhere, phones ringing, call lights going off, nurses freaking out... it's MADDENING!!! And that's a normal day on a 24-bed unit.
But let's take this on a higher level. Eight kids off the unit getting some sort of medical imagining, nurses HIGHLY UPSET, lab calling about missing orders (who knew the orders that have been "waiting in line" to get into the computer had actually been "waiting in line" for almost two hours, oops I forgot to fax this page for this kid to get anesthesia... no Lumbar Puncture for that kiddo that just fasted for 12 hours for it...
I yelled at people. I called the techs in for help. I left the unit without giving any type of report to them as to what was going on, and I cried.
Amazing hospital, I love it to death, don't get me wrong. Best place I've ever worked and I fully plan on working there five years from now. But that day, Ooohh that day... was awful. So awful.
Luckily now, our THREE doctors (did I mention we lost two of our senior doctors?) ya, I'm not even going to talk about that, Team Leaders, and Clinical Managers, and others are rallying for hiring an extra person to do my job. I hope that happens!
However, I do love my job and I do love the kids I work for.

Here, shi* in this cup

2009-12-17T09:33:00.000-08:00

Yesterday at work a couple of nurses run up to me laughing hysterically. Apparently they overheard Mariona, another CNA I work with, walk into two different kids rooms (with the parents there) with stool sample cups and saying in her VERY THICK spanish accent (from Spain...) "I am going to leave 'dis cup in your bathroom so that when you shi* later on in the day, I will put some of it in this cup and get it tested, okay?"
She didn't know that was a naughty word. That's why they gave her wide eyed looks when she said it. Ya think? She went back in to apologize and explain, but they were laughing so hard it didn't matter.

College Should Be Outlawed

2009-11-09T17:12:00.000-08:00

I knew that once I started school Opposition (whomever you want "Opposition" to be) would do everything in his power to keep me from doing well in school. I'm doing OKAY for right now, just barely passing (it's only been three weeks) but could I have become any more distracted than I am now?
Having Dad in and out of the hospital...
Missing Brady...
Still working (everyone in class is quitting their jobs)...
Living ALONE (Whitney still hasn't had time to move in yet)...
I keep forgetting to get a can opener so I can eat my beloved canned food sitting in my pantry...
I miss my family...
I miss my bed...

But I do have a bunch of diamonds on my finger I keep staring at. ;)

Kill Me Now

2009-10-22T16:09:00.001-07:00

I knew school would be hard, but it's harder than I thought it would be and it's only been a week. I hate it. But I love it at the same time. And what's the point of buying a camera if I never take any pictures? Don't ask. March of 2011 I'll start taking pictures again.

Where Have All The Good Days Gone?

2009-10-14T14:57:00.000-07:00

Goodbye.

Goodbye Facebook.
Hello Blackboard and books.

Goodbye Family and Friends.
Hello new BFF’s (I get 29 new brothers and sisters).

Goodbye home cooked meals.
Hello Ramen, Taco Bell and Spaghettios.

Goodbye sweet fluffy bed.
Hello new “nice enough” bed from Ikea.

Goodbye flip flops and jeans and t-shirts.
Hello scrubs and nursing shoes.

Goodbye black purse.
Hello backpack that now serves as school bag and purse.

Goodbye 12hr 3days/week work schedule.
Hello 12hr 6days/week work, school and study schedule.

Late for Work

2009-09-20T22:52:00.000-07:00

So I'll just post some pics.
I love my Briley. This picture was taken at her mom's wedding. I have more pictures but I'm waiting for her to PUT THEM UP ALREADY!!!

And I have a boy. (Thanks Cathy for the "censorship").

2009-09-18T13:19:00.000-07:00

So I don't blog much anymore, but I have great news. I DID buy a new camera so more posts are to come.
And my OTHER great news that I doubt anybody cares about but was a COMPLETE relief to me yesterday... I got an exception to use ALL of my PTO during school for November and December while I'm going to school.
And this whole Nursing school crap is killing me and I haven't even started yet. The worst part so far, is I have no idea what my schedule is going to look like until two weeks before I start. THAT, is torture.
And can you believe Briley graduates in December? Unless she fails MWAHAHAHHAHAHA, though I know she won't because it's all maternity stuff. I'm so jealous.

Extra Time on My Hands

2009-08-31T11:24:00.000-07:00

Here's some words. For each word, tell me of a memory you have that is associated with each. You don't have to do all of them if you dont' want to. I have a lot of time on my hands today...

Playground: In junior high a bunch of us kids would play football at Candelight Park. One night, a kid named Stu (pretty sure he had done some kind of drug) began climbing the light pole. Slightly entertaining, though we all think he taken something. He was crazy.

Dice: Playing Bunko with Briley and her sisters. Everytime it would be my turn to finish, I kept tossing the dice on accident. It was just habit.

Zoo: A couple years ago I went on a date with a guy named Kevin Mckinney to the Phoenix Zoo. When we walked up to the flamingos, I stood and stared in amazement. I always thought flamingos were some mystical creature decoration in front yards, like gnomes! Oh, but they are, in fact, real animals. And they even stand on one leg most of the time!

Police Officer: Driving in the car with my friend Zach Tanner just as the sun was setting. He gets pulled over and the officer walks up and says "hi, you know why I pulled you over?" I immediately recognized the voice and looked at the officer and said "JOE????" The officer was my brother in law. When he looked at me, he realized who I was and said "Brittany??? Dangit! I thought I had pulled over a drunk!" (apparently his lights were off and that's a huge sign that a drunk is behind the wheel,haha). Joe gives him a verbal warning and let's us go. Zach is totally bewildered. When I asked him what was wrong, he said "Brittany, you are an angel. I don't have a license. I'm not supposed to be driving."

Electronics: Don't tell Dad this, because I'm pretty sure he wanted to keep these because he said they still worked. I didn't believe him. About a year ago, My ex boyfriend and I and his friends took about 3 or 4 old computers that had been sitting in the garage and took them out to Sycamore Creek and shot them all. With automatic rifles. It was AWESOME!!! I even have video footage of it. But my lips are sealed as to who owns them.

Grocery store: I was buying eggs a couple weeks ago when a midle aged man in a wheelchair comes up behind me and says out loud "hey there beautiful". I turn and look at him and say "huh??", then I see his wife walk up behind me. He starts laughing and tells me that was directed towards his wife who just happened to be on my other side. It was pretty funny.

Mouse: When I was 5 or 6, I was sitting on the toilet upstairs when this awful black mouse SPRINTED out from behind the toilet. Sent me into a terrible screaming fit, starting crying hysterically, and mom had to come upstairs and wipe for me and pull up my pants. I'm pretty sure I remember her laughing the entire time too, but it was so long ago, I can't really remember.

Spanish: After church on Sunday in Rocky Point, a Mexican man came up and was selling jewelry. He asked if we had been partying and having fun and I told him we don't party or drink. In very broken English, I realized he was trying to tell me that he noticed there are a lot of Mormons on this beach. All of a sudden I was speaking Spanish so easily and told him about the church down the road and asked if he wanted to have the missioanries visit him. He said yes but didn't have an address or telephone number and at that point, couldn't understand or remember the streets he was telling me to get to his house. So i grabbed Alecia's brother, a peice of paper and pencil and he spoke to him and got directions for me. Brought the paper home, gave it to Cathy's parents who know members of the ward in Rocky Point and I have no idea where it went from there. It was awesome.

Concert: I've been to a ton of concerts. My first one was Foo Fighters when I was 11. My brother Donny took me and he taught me and my friends how to jump the fence when security wasn't looking at get to the front. Everybody except Candice made it. Candice got caught by security and had to sit in the very back while the rest of us made it to the very front. SUCKA!!!

Camping: This summer at our annual family campout, Esse, Donny's dog, got lost in the woods while we were out shooting guns. We all split up and walked uphill in the woods searching for him and while we were looking, I felt like I was in the movie Last of the Mohicans. But wearing normal clothes instead of loinclothes. We eventually found him. I love my Esse. Even if he's a homosexual.

Ghetto: Two years ago, my friend Daniel and I were driving to California in the middle of the night. Daniel is very very black. We got lost and found ourselves in the ghetto in Compton. There's lots of creepers late at night there. We eventually found our way back to the freeway and got to our destination. Daniel said I would be okay because he was black and from the ghetto (didn't make me feel better). I still was scared we were gonna get jumped.

Desert: Mom and I were driving out to Queen Creek down Ironwood road a couple years ago when we got hit by this MASSIVE dust storm. Being in Mesa my entire life, I never got the chance of experiencing a REAL dust storm in the desert. It was amazing. It was like a giant blizzard, you had to slow down super slow and you couldn't see five feet in front of you.

Restaurant: I almost got in a fight at Wendy's with a drunk black lady who called me an "effing white b****". I let her harass me for at least five minutes, supressing my laughter. Finally, I had had it. The first time I've ever lost my temper. I got in her face, had a few choice words, told her if she ever touched me again, I was gonna (enter your choice of words here) out of her, and she backed off.

Illness: While driving in the car with a bunch of girls, my friend Deborah got really sick on the freeway and threw up out the window. Problem was, I was in her way of the window and luckily she made it out the window, but it speckled all over me. Good work Deb.

Car ride: My friends Whitney Ries and Jenn Booth and I were driving to California at 430 in the morning. Jenn slept in the back most of the way, while Whitney and I sang Celine Dion and laughed the entire time. It was a great trip. She's an AMAZING road trip buddy.

Altered Level of Consciousness (you decide how you want to interperet that one haha): I woke up in the middle of the night because Whitney Ries and I were having a full on conversation. I must have asked her a question about a movie because I know I was thinking/dreaming about it, and I woke up to her saying "I promise, you'll like it. It's a really good movie". It was so wierd.

Date: At FHE, we had an auction date night. Everyone got to bid on a date they wanted to go on. I bid and won "Train ride in the desert" thinking it sounded like fun, innocent, though illegal date. I was totally ready for some illegal fun! No, it was Rawhide in Chandler. Delicious food, a little dancing, and a little kids train ride! Not what I was expecting, but my date was super cute and I got a kiss a week later. (yaaaa! you know whoo...)

Dancing: Couple of weeks ago, Briley and I were listening to Celine Dion and singing and dancing in her kitchen. I noticed Briley was dancing a little "sexy" so I pulled out my camera and sneakily recorded her dancing. When she saw me recording her, she yelled "Are you recording me??? AAAHH!" and tried to get it from me. But I sent it to her boyfriend just in time before she could get it. HA! Sucka!!!

Well, that was fun. Hope you enjoyed it!

Happy Birthday Mom!

2009-08-08T15:21:00.000-07:00

So it was last month, but it FINALLY got done! All her kids pitched in and let her go on a "decor" shopping spree. She picked out fabric to re-do the kitchen chairs, some greenery, and a few other items to decorate the kitchen and some other areas of the house.

BEFORE:

AFTER:

Let's just say fabric and cutting and measurements are just NOT my thing. But I gotta say, I don't think I did such a bad job! It was almost humerous being alone in the house taking apart the chairs and pretending like I knew what I was doing. Just don't look at my staple jobs under the chairs.

Signing My Life Over To The Devil

2009-08-07T16:15:00.000-07:00

That's right!!! I got accepted into Banner Fellows Nursing Program @Gateway Community College starting in mid-October. So much to do, so little time. I'm anxious, scared, nervous, but COMPLETELY EXCITED at the same time. I think I'm sick and twisted putting myself through all this school. This time I'm REALLY falling off the face of the Earth for the next 18 months. Wish me luck!

Crossing My Fingers

2009-08-06T23:28:00.000-07:00

Had my interview. Now I wait. Hopefully I'll know by the end of next week, but I'm not counting on it.
Do I pee my pants now? Or do I wait until later?

News Update

2009-08-01T09:31:00.001-07:00

I have an interview set up next week for the October nursing program at Gateway Community College. I'm not getting my hopes up because I really want to start ASAP, but I'm feeling good about it though.
I had it in my head that since it's been six weeks and it normally takes only two weeks for Banner employees to get an interview, I figured I wasn't getting in at all. But I guess there's a chance. Hopefully I find out next month wether I'm accepted or not. Cross your fingers for me!
If I do get accepted however... there's a lot to be done! I'm not ready! I'll need to find a place to live (aka find GOOD roommates)apply for financial aid, get my finances together... I almost get sick thinking about how much there is to do. Oh I'm nervous. I wasn't expecting to be nervous. GAAAAAHH!

On another note... I HAVE BANGS!

No, this isn't me, this is Rihanna. But it was the closest picture I could find (since I STILL don't have a camera!)

I Don't Know What It Is

2009-07-17T11:04:00.001-07:00

Do you ever have those days when you're just driving in the car, listening to music and you can't help but be SUPER EXCITED about absolutely nothing? I do that sometimes. I really have nothing to be SUPER EXCITED about, but I am! And I should have been PMS'ing these last couple days too!
I think I just love my job. I was driving out of the parking garage from work and was listening to Dashboard loud and just thinking how excited I am to start school again. Then I just got super giddy and excited and I can't wait!
But alas, still haven't heard a WORD from Banner about wether I'm accepted or not so I may have nothing to be excited about in the first place.
But I am!

Kids Quotes and Nurses Notes

2009-07-14T18:46:00.000-07:00

So at work we have this awesome notebook that will one day be made into an actual book. Anyone can write in it and it's called "Kids quotes and Nursing Notes That Keep You Going". It's hilarious. It's sad. It's upbeat. It's tender. It's everything. So there's this boy that is absolutely hilarious. He's one of those kids that has the humor of an adult and can make anybody laugh. I could totally hang out with this kid.
One day as a nurse was leaving, he said "Have a good night! Thanks for the chemo! I didn't like it, but thanks!"
Same kid's sister was raving about how awesome her brother's "hotel" was. He said "If you wanna have REAL fun, I'll just get diagnosed again!".

My Birrrrrthday

2009-07-04T13:32:00.000-07:00

Photo Shoot? Disneyland? Road Trip? Beautiful Man? What more could a girl ask for on her birthday? Last month, Briley and I drove to California to go to Disneyland. Our car ride took almost 9 hours because we kept stopping at different places along the road to take pictures. But alas, it was well worth the trip. Too bad we didn't have anybody else with us on the drive (we picked Whitney up at the airport the next day) so we didn't get too many with both Briley and I in them. It was an AMAZING birthday at Disneyland and California Adventure!

All three of us got in for free because of Briley's... sister's... husband's friend. Whatever he is. He's beautiful... and Briley was drooling all over him the entire time. Okay, so was I. He works for Disney.com and he spent part of the day with us then had to go to work.
Happiest Place On Earth, wonderful day, wonderful company, wonderful BIRTHDAY!!!

I Might Regret What I'm About To Say

2009-07-01T19:00:00.000-07:00

But I'm ticked.

I've had a lot of dates lately. Sadly, none that I've been TOO interested in. The high majority of them really awesome guys who will make whoever they end up with really happy and I wish I was more attracted to. The rest of them jerks. I don't know why, but 2009 has just been my year in the dating scene (or not since none of them have worked out), however you want to look at it.

Feeling overwhelmed one day and unsure of what to do I got some advice from Gram's "Let one boy out the back door and let the other in the front door". So, that's what I've been doing. Whatever, that's JUST HOW IT IS. Now, I'm not complaining about all the dates, I've been meeting a ton of awesome people that way.

But if one more person alludes to me as getting around, or thinking I'm better than everybody else, I'm GONNA FREAKING BEAT SOMEONE!!! Get over it already or I'm GOING punch you in the face!!!

I don't know, I could be just super sensitive today. But today, after having a guy (a very good friend) decline an offer to hang out tonight because "I don't have time for him", I just decided I've had it. Well, in that case BUDDY, your right. I DON'T have time for you then.

One more thing...

As much as I'd love to get married and have kids, I have soooooo much time to do that, it's ridiculous. I never wanted to get married young, and I still don't.

I AM EXACTLY WHERE I HAVE ALWAYS PLANNED ON BEING AT 23 AND I HAVE ZERO REGRETS.

I'm sorry if this makes me a bad Mormon girl for not "doing what I should be doing", and yes, I did have a friend actually say that to my face (who I'm sure said it good-naturedly but cut me to the core) but if that's the case, then you can stick it. Ya, you heard me...

STICK IT!!!

I have no intention of getting married anytime soon. Someday when I meet somebody I could see myself spending the REST OF MY LIFE WITH, I will. And my husband is gonna freaking rock my world. In the meantime, however, there's a lot of hotties out there that need me, and I need them. (sarcasm).

Okay, I feel SOOO much better.

BUMMMMEEERRR!!!

2009-04-30T16:47:00.000-07:00

My camera has been M-I-A since we moved to our new house. I figured I had accidently given it away to Goodwill or something. Two months later, my friend Jake says "hey, I found your camera in my backpack" (we hiked Camelback Mountain just before we moved). I freaked out I was so excited. I got my camera, took a couple pictures... YES!!! I had my camera back!
The next day I turn it on and get this on the screen "lens error, restart camera". Which I did, to no avail.
Googled this problem... apparently it's totally broken and will cost more to fix than it's worth. BUMMMERRR!!!
Maybe next month I'll get a new camera as a birthday present to myself. ;)

Glad I'm Not The Only One!!!

2009-04-16T21:04:00.001-07:00

Yesterday I sat in the nurses lounge eating lunch and watching TV. It was some entertainment news thing... they played a clip of that woman on Britain's Got Talent sing "I Dreamed a Dream" (Les Miserables... my favorite!) and totally WOW Simon Cowell (name spelling?).
I found myself crying. Not like a one tear, it was more like a couple tears, with a little breathlessness. I hoped nobody would walk in on me all choked up-like. Luckily nobody did.
PMS? Needing sleep? No. It's genetics.
Tonight I walk in on Dad watching Bill O'Reilly (of course) and he played that same clip. He was practically crying like a little girl. I, in turn, strained to hold in my emotions.
It's a Whetten thing.

Life of a Nurse

2009-04-14T19:24:00.000-07:00

I have come to the realization that if you really love someone, you would wipe their butts for them if they couldn't do it themselves. Gross, I know. Possibly not something you want to think about. But, I kid you not, that is one of the biggest lessons I have learned about love (i'm obviously not talking about the romantic kind of love). I wipe butts for a living. And I love my job. And I love my patients.
When people find out I work in a pediatric oncology unit, I always get asked "oh, how sad, how do you do it?" I just smile and tell them "it's the greatest job on Earth". Kind of throws them for a loop, maybe I should just tell them it's the most rewarding job on Earth.
Nurses have to have tough skin to get the job done, but that doesn't mean everyday is good and dandy. Some days are better than others. On the days that are a little tougher, I have to have an occasional breakdown, usually in my car after work. I have no problem cleaning up projectile vomit, explosive diahrrea and the mess made when a kid is too weak to make it to the bathroom on time, or holding a really strong four year old who is screaming and saying "I'm sorry" because he thinks he's being punished when he has to get poked (by the way, they get to go to Andrea's closet to get a present after they get poked each time).
I see my job as an outlet for not having the opportunity to have kids of my own. They are gorgeous kids, no matter how much weight they gain, or hair they loose, or how much throw up they get on me.

Saulo Morris passed away around Christmas time. He was amazing. He was in a band with his friends and loved Acai berry juice that David Byrnes from the Diamondbacks recommended to him because it was so good.

Spencer Shores just recently finished his last chemo session and his family donated this gong to our unit. Each patient that finishes chemo gets to hit the gong to represent "a new start". He hates needles and has his dad's eyes. LOVE his parents to peices and they always have such great attitudes, even at the times they can't help but tear up from frustration.

I don't know who this kid is, I found the picture on google. However, there is a retired doctor at the hospital that is no a photographer and he has a book filled with black and white pictures similar to these ones. There's some pictures of kids with tube feeds laughing, moms holding they're babies, nurses pushing meds, etc. They are breathtaking pictures and I want the book.

Motivation Blog

2009-03-13T19:52:00.000-07:00

Workout Support blog haha. www.workit-workit.blogspot.com

2009-03-03T14:07:00.000-08:00

I'm starting up a running regimine again. I know nobody really cares, but if I tell the world, then that somehow makes me feel more responsible for accomplishing it. Anyone want to be in a "texting" running group? Like, just to text each other and remind or update each other on their running? haha. And I'm serious. Alecia? Connnie? Stacy?...

Another Man of My Dreams

2009-01-25T11:44:00.000-08:00

I love Johnny Knoxville. He is the perfect combination of stupidity, danger, incredibly good looks, and a death wish. And I adore him.
I love you Johnny.

Boycott Jimmy

2009-01-25T11:24:00.000-08:00

Remember my earlier post from a few weeks ago about the horrific kids show Yo Gabba Gabba that plays on Nickelodeon? My feelings have not changed. I still think it's a haunting vision to see a gay man in a tight bright orange jumpsuit dancing... well... dancing like a gay man in a bright orange jumpsuit.
The other day I was at Deanna's house just chillin with the family while the kids played near us in the room. The television was on and Donny was flipping through the channels. I wasn't watching the television, but my ears suddenly perked up to the sound of one of my favorite bands Jimmy Eat World on TV. It was like slow motion. I smiled, blinking while turning my head to the tv to see the music video. Then the unthinkable happened. I opened my eyes and to my dismay was the horrifying visual:
JIMMY EAT WORLD ON YO GABBA GABBA!!!
I panicked, hyperventilated, then let out the most horrific "NNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
Okay, it wasn't that intense, but I was greatly disappointed that Jimmy... MY JIMMY, would stoop so low, and committ a crime so unthinkable.
Let us all take a moment of silence.
However, I have forgiven Jimmy of this awful wrongdoing and have made peace with the anguish it had caused me.
Please. Watch your children around Nickelodeon.

Se habla Espanol!

2008-12-28T20:01:00.000-08:00

So I am taking it easy now. I'm not sure what I'm going to do with all my freetime. I thought about taking some fun classes at MCC like drawing, photography, or astronomy or something like that, but I've decided to save my pennies and teach myself Spanish instead. Let's see if I follow through.
I bought Dos Mundos on Ebay for 75 cents. I am going to study spanish on my own. I use the spanish that I already know on a daily basis and I love it because when I leave my patients rooms, I'm thinking in Spanish. Kinda scary. So i figure I should get better at it.
We'll see how dedicated I really am.

Christmas Party

2008-12-27T11:41:00.000-08:00

Here's some pictures I took at our Christmas Party that Whitney hosted at her house. Whitney did a very nice job and decorated it very cute. Thanks Whit, it was a blast!

Chris and Tony look like a gay couple with a baby, haha.

Holiday Happenings

2008-12-27T11:27:00.000-08:00

I'm not really in the mood for writing anything, so I'm just going to post some recent pictures. Not incredibly exciting.

Graduation

2008-12-27T11:17:00.000-08:00

Ugh, I'm SOOOO glad I'm over with all that. I think I'm going to take a nice long break.

Almooooossstt ttthhheeerrreee!!!

2008-12-02T21:24:00.001-08:00

This week I'm feeling like this...

Nextx week, I'll be feeling LIKE THIS!!! WOOOOOOOHHOOOOO!!!

Let's pray this week goes by FAASSTTT!!!

He is my heart, my soul

2008-11-27T14:04:00.001-08:00

If he had the right credentials for me to marry, I would be on him like white on rice. Even with the tats. Mmmmhhhmmm...

Introducing my new boyfriend, Chris Carraba. Yes, you may know him. He's pretty famous. He's the lead singer of Dashboard Confessional and little does he know that wew were meant to be.
Okay, so he'll never be mine. However, my point to all this is I think HE should have been Edward in Twilight. He was, and still is, my book Edward despite what the movie Edward looks like. What do you think?

Turkey Day!!!

2008-11-27T12:41:00.000-08:00

So far, Thanksgiving has been unusual, though still glorious as ever. Mom's surgery went very well and she's looking good, but the house... well the house a little quiet...
Briley, Alecia, Brooke, Brett and I went to the Annual Turkey Trot to pass out water (okay, well Brooke ran of course) and it was just as fun as usual. Took some fun pictures.

I always love seeing people run by that I knew growing up from school, or church, or just randomly. Thanksgiving's Turkey Trot is always so much fun!!!

Bestest Photographer Ever!!!

2008-11-24T16:35:00.000-08:00

SOME people think it's wierd to get college graduation pictures (you know who you are, you've been ratted on by your sister!!!) :), but I don't think so. My friend Tiffany is a beginning photographer and I TOTALLY recommend her for any pictures! I've never been more anxious to graduate than I am now.
Here's some of the pictures...